History and Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics

Program Introduction and Structural Overview

Each module of the program commences with a practical application of electronics. This introduction serves to demonstrate how the module's theoretical material correlates with real-world scenarios encountered by an electronics technician. Given the broad diversity of the electronics field, the content is designed to present a wide cross-section of employment opportunities and the specific tasks expected in professional environments.

Practical applications outline specific tasks required for technicians working in companies focused on the following areas:

• Manufacture of electronic equipment.

• Design of electronic equipment.

• Installation of electronic equipment.

• Maintenance of electronic equipment.

Upon completion of a module, students should possess sufficient knowledge to solve the introductory task. The methodology for finding the solution is explicitly detailed in the final section of each module.

Early Discoveries and the Foundation of Electricity

In 600 B.C., the Greeks observed that certain substances attracted others when rubbed with fur. Thales of Miletus ($640-546\,B.C.$) was among the first to note that amber ($\text{elektron}$ in Greek) attracted small bits of straw and fibrous materials. This Greek word, describing a solidified tree sap used for ornaments, serves as the root for "electricity."

Sir William Gilbert ($1544-1603$) published "De Magnete," identifying that many substances could be electrified by friction. He distinguished amber's behavior from magnetic lodestones, noting that lodestone always attracts iron, whereas electrified objects only attract when recently rubbed. Gilbert's work suggested that electricity and magnetism relate to the state or motion of an "electric charge."

In 1733, Charles F. DuFay ($1698-1739$) experimented with conduction and discovered two types of electrical "fluid":

• A glass rod rubbed with silk became electrified.

• A wax rod rubbed with fur became electrified.

18th Century Advancements: Franklin and Coulomb

Benjamin Franklin ($1706-1790$) introduced the nomenclature of positive ($+$) and negative ($-$) charges. He defined the charge on a glass rod rubbed with silk as positive and the charge on wax or rubber rods rubbed with fur as negative.

In 1785, Charles Augustin de Coulomb ($1736-1806$) proved the laws of attraction and repulsion between charges. Coulomb's Law states that the force acting between two charges is:

• Directly proportional to the product of the two charges ($q_1 \times q_2$).

• Inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges ($r^2$).

Electrochemical and Magnetic Breakthroughs

In 1786, Luigi Galvani discovered "animal electricity" after observing a frog's leg twitch when copper and iron were brought into contact with its nerve and muscle.

In 1796, Alessandro Volta proved electricity could be generated by contacting unlike metals separated by moistened paper. By stacking pairs of these metals to increase charge intensity, he created the "voltaic pile," the first battery.

In 1820, Hans Christian Oersted ($1777-1851$) discovered electromagnetism when he accidentally observed that a current-carrying wire could change the orientation of a neighboring compass needle. This linked the origin of magnetic fields to the motion of electric charges.

In 1826, Georg Simon Ohm ($1787-1854$) established Ohm's Law, observing that the electrical resistance of metallic conductors remains constant across a wide range of potential differences.

Circuit Theory and Induction

Electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday ($1791-1867$) and Joseph Henry ($1797-1878$). Because Faraday published first, the governing principles are known as Faraday's laws.

Gustav Kirchhoff, a 19th-century physicist, contributed significantly to circuit theory, optics, and thermal emission. In 1845, while still a student, he formulated Kirchhoff's circuit laws. These laws allow for the calculation of currents in complex networks by reducing circuits joined at nodes to solvable algebraic equations.

The Rise of the Vacuum Tube Era

The "dawn of electronics" began in 1868 when Heinrich Geissler ($1814-1879$) developed Geissler tubes, which produced different colors via electrical discharges in rarefied gases. This led Sir William Crookes ($1832-1919$) to invent the first cathode ray tube.

In 1883, Thomas Edison ($1847-1931$) discovered the thermionic diode while working on the incandescent light bulb. He found that current flows when a positive potential is applied to an electrode inside a bulb with a hot filament, but not when the filament is cold.

Sir John Fleming refined this into the Fleming valve (vacuum-tube rectifier or diode) in 1904, used for converting alternating current into direct current. In 1907, Lee de Forest ($1873-1961$) patented the triode tube, the first vacuum tube capable of amplifying small electrical signals.

In 1916, Walter Schottky invented the tetrode tube. He later invented the first semiconductor diode in 1938.

Solid-State Electronics and the Integrated Circuit

In 1947, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invented the transistor, moving electronics into the solid-state era.

In 1958, the integrated circuit (IC) was developed by Jean Hoerni, Jack Kilby, Kurt Lehovec, and Robert Noyce. This allowed thousands of transistors to be placed on a semiconductor chip the size of a thumbnail.

In 1971, Ted Hoff developed the microprocessor, which revolutionized the computing industry by drastically reducing the cost and size of machines.

The Computing Evolution and Modern Microtechnology

Personal computers were introduced for home and office use in 1977 by three companies: Apple, Radio Shack, and Commodore. Motorola furthered this in 1979 with a powerful $16\text{-bit}$ microprocessor.

In 1980, Microsoft's MS-DOS became an industry standard for systems using INTEL microprocessors. The progression of INTEL technology included:

• 1993: Pentium microprocessor ($64\text{-bit}$, $100\,MHz$).

• 2002: Pentium IV (surpassed $1\,GHz$).

In 2003, Cornell University scientists developed a transistor where electrons flow through a single atom, reaching the smallest possible physical limit. This discovery opened the door for nanoelectronic and subminiature circuits.

In the 21st century, Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) have become prominent. These systems utilize a modified CMOS IC manufacturing process to integrate:

• Silicon-based micro- and nanoelectronics.

• Micromachining technology.

• Mechanical functions with electrical functions.

MEMS and NEMS are used to interface microscopic electronic control devices with mechanical actuators, motors, or pumps, forming chemical, physical, and biological sensors.