Introduction to Electronics: History and Basic Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering the history of electronics, basic electrical components, electrical laws, SI units, and laboratory safety based on the Prelim Week 1-5 lecture notes from Southern Luzon State University.

Electronics

The branch of science and engineering that deals with the study, design, and application of electrical circuits involving active components such as transistors, diodes, and integrated circuits ($ICs$).

Vacuum Tube Era (1900s–1940s)

A period where the first electronic devices used vacuum tubes to control the flow of electric current; used in early radios, televisions, and the $ENIAC$ computer.

ENIAC

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer; a large, early computer from the vacuum tube era.

Transistor (1947)

Invented at Bell Laboratories, this device replaced bulky vacuum tubes and is smaller, faster, more reliable, and energy-efficient.

Integrated Circuit (1958/1960s)

An innovation where engineers combined many transistors into a single silicon chip, dramatically reducing the size of electronic devices.

Microprocessor (1971)

The invention that placed the CPU on a single chip, leading to the development of personal computers, smartphones, and artificial intelligence devices.

Computer Electronics

The electronic components and circuits that allow computers to receive, process, store, and transmit information.

Motherboard

The main circuit board that connects all computer components and allows communication among devices.

Central Processing Unit ($CPU$)

Known as the brain of the computer; it executes instructions and performs calculations.

Random Access Memory ($RAM$)

Temporary storage that stores data currently being processed.

Power Supply Unit ($PSU$)

Converts AC electricity into DC electricity and supplies the proper voltage to every component.

Capacitor

An electronic component that stores electrical energy temporarily in an electric field and releases it when needed; unit is the farad ($F$).

Resistor

An electronic component that limits or controls the flow of electric current in a circuit; unit is the ohm ($\Omega$).

Diode

An electronic component that allows electric current to flow in only one direction; functions include converting AC to DC and emitting light ($LED$).

Transistor (Active Function)

A semiconductor device used as an electronic switch or amplifier, capable of performing digital logic operations.

Personal Protective Equipment ($PPE$)

Clothing or equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that may cause injuries during laboratory work.

ESD Wrist Strap

Electrostatic Discharge wrist strap; prevents static electricity from damaging sensitive components such as $RAM$, $CPUs$, and motherboards.

Matter

Anything that has mass and occupies space; exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas.

Atom

The smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element, consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Electron

A subatomic particle with a negative charge ($-$) located in the electron cloud, responsible for the flow of electric current.

Electric Charge

A property of matter that causes particles to attract or repel each other (like charges repel, unlike charges attract).

Voltage ($V$)

The electrical pressure that pushes electrons through a conductor; also called potential difference; unit is the Volt ($V$).

Current ($I$)

The flow of electrons through a conductor; unit is the Ampere ($A$).

Resistance ($R$)

The opposition to the flow of electric current; unit is the Ohm ($\Omega$).

Electrical Power ($P$)

The rate at which electrical energy is converted into work, measured in Watts ($W$); calculated as $P = V \times I$.

Conductor

Material that allows electric current to flow easily due to many free electrons, such as copper, silver, or aluminum.

Insulator

Material that resists the flow of electricity and protects people from shock, such as rubber, plastic, or glass.

Semiconductor

Material with electrical conductivity between conductors and insulators, such as silicon and germanium.

Ohm's Law

States that the current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the voltage applied across it and inversely proportional to its resistance ($I = \frac{V}{R}$).

Kilowatt-hour ($kWh$)

The unit of measurement upon which electricity bills are based; calculated as $Energy = Power \times Time$.

Passive Components

Components that generally do not generate electrical energy but primarily limit, store, release, or transfer it, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

Potentiometer

A type of variable resistor commonly used as a volume control or variable voltage divider.

LDR

Light Dependent Resistor; a component whose resistance changes according to light intensity.

Inductor

A passive component that stores energy in a magnetic field when current flows through it; unit is the henry ($H$).

Transformer

A device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through electromagnetic induction using primary and secondary windings.

Step-down Transformer

A transformer that reduces voltage, such as from $220\,V$ AC to $12\,V$ AC.

Step-up Transformer

A transformer that increases voltage; it has more turns on the secondary winding than on the primary winding.

Digital Multimeter ($DMM$)

An instrument used to measure voltage, current, resistance, continuity, and diodes.

Continuity Testing

A test to check whether there is a continuous electrical path between two points, often indicated by a beeping sound.

Giga ($G$)

A metric prefix representing $1,000,000,000$ ($10^{9}$).

Mega ($M$)

A metric prefix representing $1,000,000$ ($10^{6}$).

kilo ($k$)

A metric prefix representing $1,000$ ($10^{3}$).

milli ($m$)

A metric prefix representing $0.001$ ($10^{-3}$).

micro ($\mu$)

A metric prefix representing $0.000001$ ($10^{-6}$).

nano ($n$)

A metric prefix representing $0.000000001$ ($10^{-9}$).

pico ($p$)

A metric prefix representing $0.000000000001$ ($10^{-12}$).