introduction

Electronic Engineering is a branch of physics. If a student is considering engineering as a career, they should consider studying physics for the leaving certificate. Here is a guide to the overlap between my experience as an electronic engineer where my knowledge of physics benefitted me.

LIGHT & OPtics

As well as using the Si units and regularly using prefixes like mico-, milli-, giga- electronic engineers may come in contact with fibre optics. I  worked as part of a team developing an integrated circuit that was used as a laser driver for fibre optic communication which works on the principle of total internal reflection. I have experience at EMC (Now Dell EMC) Cork where I tested network switches where I needed to plug in dozens of optical fibre cables into a switch to test the performance.

SPEED, VELOCITY & acceleration

Speed, velocity and rates of change are important for electronic measurements where there is movement. I have completed experiments involving automotive RADAR where we needed to measure distance as well as acceleration of targets in highly controlled environment called an an anechonic (echo-less) chamber.

Vectors and scalars

Vectors are very important in the RF(Microwave) world. We use vector network analyzers to measure not only magnitude but also phase of radio frequency signals. I have taken many reflection loss measurements and conducted experiments on phase delay components using this type of equipment.

Force, mass, gravity & Pressure

We take temperature measurements using highly pressurized gases in the lab so we are aware of pressure when doing characterization of semiconductors. Analog Devices have parts that are launched into space and that functional on satellites that are orbiting the earth. 

WORK, ENERGY & POWER

Everything in the electrical world is based on power/price/performance trade-off. Our customers care about cost but this translates directly to the electrical energy. Most of the focus in electrical systems is on converting one for of energy into electricity. That electricity is taken, stored and changed it into a different form of energy: moving a robotic arm, heating a room ect. For example, we develop new features on our parts which means that our customers(or our customers' customers) have to spend less money on electricity thus lowering their costs. We look at chemical energy, electrical energy, nuclear energy & in most cases electronics are used to monitor and control most system that run on electricity.

Circular & harmonic MOTION

Circular motion is used to explain a lot of the more complex concepts of electronics and radians/degrees conversion is very important in electronics. In RF electronics, harmonics and terms like oscillations, period, frequency and amplitude are all used on a daily basis. 

Temperature, Heat& HEAT TRANSFER

Heat and temperature transfer are very important. We measure our parts across temperature. We measure using on-chip temperature sensors, external temperature sensors, thermal cameras and we change temperature using external systems using air and metal conduction. We spend a lot of time making sure the temperature we say our parts will work at is clearly defined and examining the impacts of temperature change on integrated circuits.

WAVES, VIBRATIONS & SOUNDS

Within RF and Microwave engineering everything we do is related to waves and we think in the frequency domain and speak in terms of Hz instead of seconds. Harmonics are usually unwanted and we go to great length to remove or reduce harmonics.

Electricity

A big part of what we do in electronics is based on electrical fundamentals, in fact our counterparts in USA who study the same material are known as electrical engineers. We work with capacitance, voltage (potential difference) and resistors every day. Ammeters, Voltmeters, series circuits, parllell cirucits, semiconductors, this is all our bread and butter as engineers.

Electromagnetism

Electromagnetic radiation, magnetism and induction are part of our studies. It's how electricity is generated. I have worked with customers that have worked through EMC issues. Transformers, inductors & capacitors would all be part of the circuits we would work with.

Electrons

I worked on an ECG part (ADAS1000) that used electrodes to measure electrical impulses that we observed as vectors across the hearts muscles.

Radioactivity& Nuclear energy

ADI Analog to Digital Converters are used in the large hydrogen collider to precisely measure voltage. I personally had no involvement in any projects that touched on nuclear energy but I some of my colleagues have.

Applied Electricity

I used electromagnetic relays as part of the PODS game I developed as part of the young scientist exhibition. A lot of the applications of the diode are well known electronic circuits and the transistor is something we use regularly in our designs. the number of transistors on a chip(Moore's law) is used as a barometer for the health of the electronics industry. Logic gates and logic are used all the time to solve issues we encounter. We would use logic arithmetic almost as much as regular arithmetic when developing computer programs/functions.