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Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 22:51:05 +0100
Reply-to: phys-l@mailer.uwf.edu
From: "Ludwik Kowalski" <KowalskiL@Mail.Montclair.edu>
To: phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Re: On electronics (was Computer Skills)
I may add that one does not learn the laws of nature whileI agree with most of the above, but I need to point out
examining a complex integrated circuit. The law of nature
are certainly involved but the behavior of a system is
governed by the laws imposed by inventors (do this when
that happens, etc.) The system is so complex that laws of
nature are overshadowed by the "man-made" laws. A computer
is an example of a modern electronic gadget.
One may argue that the same is true for a vacuum tube, a
relay or a transistor. But these "man-made" devices are
simple enough and their understanding is DIRECTLY based on
the understanding of laws of nature. A system with too
many simple components, even a heterodyne receiver build
with tubes, is no longer appropriate for learning physics.
Complex electronics is a child of physics but that child
is so far away from parents that the genealogy is not at
all obvious. A clear distinction between the electronics
of components and electronics of complex systems may be
useful. Learning the first (Bob was saying "basic
electronics") helps to learn physics, learning the second
may not be so useful, unless one wants to become an
electronics expert (a valuable skill).
I suspect that electronic engineering today is very very
different from what it was fifty years ago. What
percentage of learning time do they devote to physics in
teaching electronics today? Do we have some electronics
experts on phys-L?
As for electronics I am no longer sure it is as
important today as it was when I learned it, also in the
50's. In those days electronics was really applied
physics. Today electronics means many things to many
people. To some it means what it used to be but most
often it is defined (implicitly) as a skill of
connecting (or replacing) black boxes, such as
operational amplifiers, etc. The components, usually
hidden, are too small to investigate.
L
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Bob Sciamanda wrote:
Since I began teaching (in the 50's) I have argued for
basic electronics as a necessary ingredient of the
physics curriculum, citing its ubiquity in the
implementation of almost any modern experimental
procedure.