I.

DEFINITION

Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the
principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and
other electrically charged particles. Electronics is a subfield of electrical engineering, but it
differs from it in that it focuses on using active devices such as transistors, diodes, and integrated
circuits to control and amplify the flow of electric current and to convert it from one form to
another, such as from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) or from analog to digital.
Electronics also encompasses the fields of microelectronics, nanoelectronics, optoelectronics,
and quantum electronics, which deal with the fabrication and application of electronic devices at
microscopic, nanoscopic, optical, and quantum scales.

Electronics have a profound impact on various aspects of modern society and culture,
such as communication, entertainment, education, health care, industry, and security. The main
driving force behind the advancement of electronics is the semiconductor industry, which
produces the basic materials and components for electronic devices and circuits.
The semiconductor industry is one of the largest and most profitable sectors in the global
economy, with annual revenues exceeding $481 billion in 2018. The electronics industry also
encompasses other sectors that rely on electronic devices and systems, such as e-commerce,
which generated over $29 trillion in online sales in 2017.

II. HISTORY

In this 21st century, every day we are dealing with electronic circuits and devices in some
of the other forms because gadgets, home appliances, computers, transport systems, cell phones,
cameras, TV, etc. all have electronic components and devices. Today’s world of electronics has
made deep inroads in several areas, such as healthcare, medical diagnosis, automobiles,
industries, electronics projects, etc., and convinced everyone that without electronics, it is really
impossible to work. Therefore, looking forward to knowing the past and about the brief history
of electronics is necessary to revive our minds and to get inspired by those individuals who
sacrificed their lives by engaging themselves in such amazing discoveries and inventions that
costs everything for them, but nothing for us, and, in turn, benefitted us immensely since then.

Electronics’ actual history began with the invention of vacuum diode by J.A. Fleming, in
1897; and, after that, a vacuum triode was implemented by Lee De Forest to amplify electrical
signals. This led to the introduction of tetrode and pentode tubes that dominated the world until
World War II.

Subsequently, the transistor era began with the junction transistor invention in 1948.
Even though this particular invention got a Nobel Prize, yet it was later replaced with a bulky
vacuum tube that would consume high power for its operation. The use of germanium and silicon
semiconductor materials made these transistors gain popularity and wide-acceptance usage in
different electronic circuits.
 The subsequent years witnessed the invention of the integrated circuits (ICs) that
drastically changed the electronic circuits’ nature as the entire electronic circuit got integrated on
a single chip, which resulted in low: cost, size, and weight electronic devices. The years 1958 to
1975 marked the introduction of IC with enlarged capabilities of over several thousand
components on a single chip such as small-scale integration, medium-large scale, and very-large-
scale integration ICs.

And the trend further carried forward with the JFETS and MOSFETs that were developed
from 1951 to 1958 by improving the device designing process and by making more reliable and
powerful transistors.
Digital integrated circuits were yet another robust IC development that changed the overall
architecture of computers. These ICs were developed with Transistor-transistor logic (TTL),
integrated injection logic (I2L), and emitter-coupled logic (ECL) technologies. Later these digital
ICs employed PMOS, NMOS, and CMOS fabrication design technologies.

All these radical changes in all these components led to the introduction
of microprocessors in 1969 by Intel. Soon after, the analog integrated circuits were developed
that introduced an operational amplifier for analog signal processing. These analog circuits
include analog multipliers, ADC and DAC converters, and analog filters.
This is all about the fundamental understanding of electronics history. This history of
electronics technology costs a greater investment of time, efforts, and talent from the real heroes,
some of them are described below.

Luigi Galvani (1737-1798)

Luigi Galvani was a professor at the University of Bologna. He studied the effects of electricity
on animals, especially on frogs. With the help of experiments, he showed the presence of
electricity in frogs in the year 1791.

Charles Coulomb (1737-1806)

Charles coulomb was a great scientist of the 18th century. He experimented with mechanical
resistance and developed the coulomb’s law of electro-static charges in the year 1799.

Allesandro Volta (1745-1827)

Allesandro Volta was an Italian scientist. He invented the battery in the year 1799. He was the
first to develop a battery (Voltaic cell) that could produce electricity as a result of a chemical
reaction.

Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1852)

Hans Christian Oersted showed that whenever a current flows through a conductor, a magnetic
field is associated with it. He initiated the study of electromagnetism and discovered Aluminum
in the year 1820.
George Simon Ohm (1789-1854)

George Simon Ohm was a German physicist. He experimented with the electrical circuits and
made his own part including the wire. He found that some conductors worked when compared to
others. He discovered Ohms law in the year 1827, which is a relationship between current,
voltage& resistance. The unit for resistance is named after him.

Michael Faraday (1791-1867)

Michael Faraday was a British scientist and great pioneer experimenter in electricity and
magnetism. After the discovery by Oersted, he demonstrated electromagnetic induction in the
year 1831. This is the basic principle of the working of generators.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872)
Samuel Finley Breese Morse brought a telegraphy system to the forefront with electromagnets &
invented the code in 1844 and named after him.

In the year1837, the expansion of an electric telegraph system uses a deflecting magnetic needle,
developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone & Sir W. F. Cooke, who fixed the primary railway
telegraph in England. To make the telegraph a viable system for communication, Morse
overcame the design flaws of both electrical as well as information flow limits to allow the
telegraph to turn into a feasible system for communication.

Joseph Henry (1799-1878)

Joseph Henry was an American scientist, and independently discovered electromagnetic

induction in the year 1831 – a year before faraday’s discovery. The unit of induction was named
after him.

Heinrich F.E. Lenz (1804-1865)

Heinrich F.E. Lenz was born in Tartu, the old University City, Estonia. He worked as a professor
at St. Petersburg University. He followed several experiments on the lead of Faraday.

He is honored by the law with his name and it states that the induced current’s electrodynamics
action equally resists the mechanical inducing action. Afterward, it was identified as an
expression for energy conservation.

Hermann Lud-wig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821-1894)

Hermann Lud-wig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a universal scientist as well as a researcher. In
the 19th century, he is one of the famous scientists. In the year 1870, once examining all the
common electrodynamics theories, he lends his support for Maxwell’s theory which was slightly
recognized on the European continent.

Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914)

In the year 1879, Joseph Wilson Swan was invented as an electric lamp in Britain. The filament
of the lamp is carbon & had a fractional vacuum & demonstration of preceded Edison’s in six
months.

James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)

James Clerk Maxwell was a British physicist, and he wrote a treatise on magnetism and
electricity in the year 1873. He developed the electromagnetic field equations in the year 1864.
The equations in it were explained and predicted by hertz’s work and faradays’ work. James
Clerk Maxwell formulated an important theory – that is, electromagnetic theory of light.

Sir William Crookes (1832-1919)

Sir William Crookes was developed electrical discharges using “Crookes tubes” which are
highly evacuated in 1878. These studies laid the establishment for J. J. Thomson’s investigation
in 1890 about the discharge-tube phenomenon as well as the electron. Sir William also invented
the Thallium element to complete the radiometer.

Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925)

Oliver Heaviside worked with the equations of Maxwell to decrease the exhaustion incurred in
resolving them. In the procedure, he created a vector analysis form known as “Operational
Calculus” that changed the differential (d/dt) through the algebraic variable (p) to change
differential equations for algebraic equations. So this will increase the solution speed greatly.

Oliver also invented the ionized air layer and named it after him, that inductance can be included
in transmission lines for increasing the distance of transmission & that charges will enlarge in
mass once accelerated.

Heinrich Rudolph Hertz (1857-1894)

Heinrich Rudolph Hertz was the first scientist to demonstrate the radio waves’ existence. His
motivation came from Helmholtz & Maxwell.

In the year 1887, he demonstrated the velocity of radio waves and also known as Hertzian waves
which were equivalent to that of light. The frequency unit like Hertz is named after him.

Henrich Rudolph Hertz (1857-1894)

Henrich Rudolph Hertz was a German physicist born in 1857 in Hamburg. He demonstrated the
electromagnetic radiation predicted by Maxwell. By using experimental procedures, he proved
the theory by engineering instruments to transmit and receive radio pulses. He was the first
person to demonstrate the photoelectric effect. The unit of frequency was named Hertz in his
honorarium.

Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923)

Charles Proteus Steinmetz has discovered the mathematics for hysteresis loss, therefore allowing
engineers to decrease magnetic loss within transformers. Charles also applied the mathematics
for compound numbers to AC analysis & therefore situated electrical systems engineering design
on a scientific base in its place of a black art.

Along with Nikola Tesla, he is accountable for the power generation which is away from
Edison’s inefficient DC system toward the more stylish AC system.

Ben Franklin (1746-52)

Ben Franklin invented different electrostatic generators by rotary glass balls for the experiment.
By using this experiment, he invented the electricity theory for the single fluid.

In earlier theories, two electrical fluids as well as two magnetic fluids were used. So he imagined
simply one imponderable electrical in the universe. The disparity in electrical charges was
clarified through an excess (+) otherwise defect (–) of the only electrical liquid. The positive &
negative symbols appear in Electric Circuit.

Andre Marie Ampere (1775-1836)

Andre Marie Ampere was a French mathematician and physicist. He studied the effects of
electric current and invented solenoid. The SI unit of electric current (the Ampere) was named
after him.

Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)

Karl Friedrich Gauss was a physical scientist and the greatest German mathematician. He
contributed to many fields like algebra, analysis, statistics, electrostatics, and astronomy. The
CGS unit of magnetic field density was named after him.

Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804-1891)

Wilhelm Eduard Weber was a German physicist. He investigated terrestrial magnetism with his
friend Carl fried rich. He devised an electromagnetic telegraph in the year 1833, and also
established a system of absolute electrical units, and the MKS unit of flux was named after
Weber.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1932)

Thomas Alva Edison was a businessman and an American inventor. He developed many devices
like, practical electric bulbs, motion picture cameras, photograph,s, and other such things. While
inventing the electric lamp, he observed the Edison effect.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

Nikola Tesla invented the Tesla coil; the Tesla induction motor; alternating current (AC);
electrical supply system that includes a transformer; 3-phase electricity and motor. In 1891, the
Tesla coil was invented and used in electronic equipment, television, and radio sets. The unit of
magnetic field density was named after him.
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887)
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist. He developed Kirchhoff’s law that allows
calculation of the voltages, currents, and resistances of electrical networks.

James Prescott Joule (1818-1889)

James Prescott Joule was a brewer and an English physicist. He discovered the law of
conservation of energy. The unit of energy – Joule was named in his honor. To develop the scale
of temperature, he worked with Lord Kelvin.

Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945)

The earliest diode tube was invented by Sir John Ambrose Fleming in 1905. This device includes
three leads where two leads are the heater and cathode & the remaining one is the plate.

Lee De Forest (1873-1961)

Lee de forest was an American inventor, and he invented the first triode vacuum tube: the
Audion tube in 1906. He was honored as the father of radio.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

In the year 1905, Einstein was involved in Max Planck’s experimental results to notice
electromagnetic energy appeared to be produced from radiating objects within quantities that
were separate.
The power of these emitted quantities is known as light-quanta and it was directly proportional to
the radiation frequency. Here this frequency was different from standard electromagnetic theory
depending on Maxwell’s equations as well as thermodynamics laws.
Einstein employed the quantum hypothesis of Planck to explain observable electromagnetic
radiation, otherwise light. Based on the viewpoint of Einstein, the beam could be visualized to
include discrete packages of radiation.

Einstein used this analysis to clarify the effect of photoelectric, where certain metals produce
electrons once they are illuminated through the light in a specified frequency. Einstein’s theory
has formed the source for Quantum Mechanics.

Walter Schottky (1886-1997)

Walter Schottky was a German physicist. He defined shot noise-random electron noise in
thermionic tubes and invented the multiple grid vacuum tube.

Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890-1954)

Edwin Howard Armstrong was an inventor and an American electrical engineer. He invented
electronic oscillator and regenerative feedback. In 1917, he invented the superheterodyne radio
and patented the FM radio in the year 1933.

Jack St. Clair Kilby (1923-2005)

Jack St. Clair Kilby was invented the IC (integrated circuit) at Texas instruments while
researching miniaturization, a phase-shift oscillator with independently connected parts. He
received a copyright in the year 1959.

Robert Norton Noyce (1927-1990)

Robert Norton Noyce was implemented the IC using a practical approach for scaling the circuit
size. He became an organizer for a company like Fairchild Semiconductor in the year1957.

In the year 1959, Noyce and his colleague invented a semiconducting chip design; a similar
thought came to mind separately to “Jack Kilby” in Texas Instruments in the same year. So, both
Noyce as well as Kilby were granted patents.

In the year 1968, Norton & Gordon Moore formed Intel. In the year 1971, Intel designer Ted
Hoff has invented the primary microprocessor namely the 4004.

Seymour Cray (1925-1996)

In the year 1976, the father of supercomputers namely Seymour Cray & George Amdahl was
defined as the industry of supercomputers.

Ray Prasad (1946-Still Going 2019)

The Author of the Surface Mount Technology Principles & Practice Textbook is Ray Prasad. He
received many awards like IPC President, Intel Achievement, SMTA Member of Distinction, &
Fellowship Medal of Dieter W. Bergman IPC.

Since the lead engineer, he initiated SMT into airplanes as well as security systems at Boeing. He
handled the SMT global implementation like a program manager at Intel Organization.

From 2000 to 2019, the timeline of Electronics History is listed below.

In the year 2006, the former WII as well as PS3 Gaming Console were invented.

In the year 2007, the first Apple iPhone as well as iPod were invented.

In the year 2008, the first Android operating system for Smartphones was invented.

In the year 2008, the Large Hadron Collider was invented.

In the year 2010, the Gaming Console of Xbox 360 was invented.

In the year 2011, the revolutions of the solar panel like a renewable energy source or an alternate
energy source.

In the year 2011, the space vehicle was invented l by NASA landed on Mars.

In the year 2014, Microscale 3-D Printing was launched.

In the year 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe.

In the year 2019, Chandrayan-2 was launched by India to the Moon.

The history of electronics is a huge area & it is not potential to provide the complete information
of the systematic history in a restricted range. Anyhow electronics concept was started first like
philosophy, after that physics, after that electrical engineering and now this concept got its
recognition.

The birth of modern electronics is started from a vacuum diode. The 20th century is changed
because of electronics because all the systems used today are electronics based. Through, the
future of electronics seems to be extremely good because of the growth in electronics. The
upcoming fields like bioinformatics & quantum communication are leading regions of
electronics.
 III. APPLICATION

Consumer Electronics
The devices and equipment meant for daily use are known as customer electronics; this industry
is widely applicable to the common people. Some of its applications included office gadgets like
computers, scanners, calculators, FAX machines, projectors etc.

It also includes home appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves, TVs,
vacuum cleaners, video games, loudspeakers etc. and some advanced storage devices such as
HDD jukebox, DVDs etc.

Industrial applications of electronics

Electronics engineering has a huge impact on the smooth functioning of the industries as it is
used in various systems, grids and processing units. For example, smart electric systems collect
information from the communication technology department, and several machines use
automation and motor control systems using electronics; also, it is used in extracting 3D images
from 2D using image processing systems.

Robotics and artificial intelligence

Apart from image processing that involves computer graphics, electronic systems are also used
in artificial intelligence and robotics technologies for inspection, navigation and assembly.
Virtual reality and face gesture recognition are computer-based, and these developments have
been possible because of electronics engineering.

Medical applications
For data recording and physiological analysis, advanced, sophisticated instruments are being
developed using the latest technologies and electronics engineering, and these instruments are
very useful in diagnosing diseases and for healing purposes.

Electronics play a vital role in the functioning of medical instruments; for instance, the
stethoscope is used to listen to the inner sounds of the human or animal body, a glucose metre for
checking sugar levels, a pacemaker for dropping and increasing heartbeat count and so on.

Defence and Aerospace

Electronics technology has been used extensively in the defence and aeronautical systems, which
include missile launching systems, cockpit controllers, military radars, aircraft systems, rocket
launchers for space and many more.
Automobiles
Electronics are widely used in the latest automobile technologies, like anti-collision units, anti-
lock braking systems, traction controls, window regulators and several electronic control units.

IV. COMMON ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

The world of electronic components can be summarized with a short list of items. Here are more
details on these essential parts of modern electronics.
What are the electronic components? The following components are among the most common
found in electronic devices:
 Microcontroller
 Transformer
 Battery
 Fuse
 Relays
 Switches
 Motors
 Circuit Breakers
What are electronic components used for? Microcomputers are small computers used to control a
multitude of devices, such as power tools, remote controls, medical equipment and office
machines. Batteries convert chemical energy to electrical energy. The two different cells of a
battery are anode (+) and cathode (-).
Fuses help preserve components from overloading with excessive current. A fuse consists of
connection body, support, contacts and metal-fuse material such as Zinc or copper. As a
protective device, a circuit breaker can be controlled with a remote switch. It is designed to
protect the circuit from overloading or a short circuit.
Switches interrupt current. The four types of switches are: single pole single throw (SPST),
single pole double throw (SPDT), double pole single throw (DPST) and double pole double
throw (DPDT).
Relays are electromechanical switches that shut power on or off. A relay includes an
electromagnet, an armature, a series of electrical contacts, and a spring.
Motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Key components include a rotor, stator,
bearings, conduit box, enclosure, and eye bolt. From watches, to home entertainment equipment,
to vehicles; motors can power a wide array of devices.
What are active and passive components in electronics? Active components include transistors,
while passive components include transformers, inductors, resistors, capacitors. Transformers are
commonly used to step up or step down power. A resistor restricts current flow. It is used in
thermistors and potentiometers. Similar to a low capacity battery, a capacitor allows delays to
occur in circuits. Inductors are used to control frequencies.
When building electronic circuits, you will work with a number of basic electronic components,
including resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, inductors and integrated circuits. Below is a
brief overview of the components and their functions.
1. Resistors: A resistor is one of the components you will come across in an integrated
circuit. Like the name suggests, the device resists the flow of current. Resistors are
graded based on their power ratings (amount of power they can handle without
exploding) and resistance values (capacity to resist current). The measurement is done
in units know as ohms. The electronic symbol of the unit is O.
2. Capacitors: These components can store electric charge temporarily. The components
come in different varieties, with the most common ones being electrolytic and ceramic
disk. The capacity of a component is usually measured in microfarads (µF).
3. Diodes: Diodes allow electric current to flow in a single direction only. Each diode
has two terminals known as the anode and cathode. When the anode is charged with
positive voltage and the cathode with a negative one, electric current can flow.
Reversing these voltages will prevent the current from flowing.
4. Transistors: These components are easy to identify through their three terminals. For
the components to work, voltage has to be applied to one of them; the base terminal.
The base can then control current flow in the two other terminals (the emitter and
collector).
5. Inductors: These are passive components that store energy in form of a magnetic field.
An inductor simply consists of a coil of wire wound around some kind of core. The
core could be a magnet or air. When current passes through the inductor, a magnetic
field is created around it. The magnetic field is stronger if a magnet is used as the core.
Related Post: Inductors and Transformers: Similarities & Differences
6. Integrated Circuits: An integrated circuit refers to a special device that has all the
components required in an electronic circuit. The component has diodes, transistors,
and other devices, all of which are etched on a tiny piece of silicon. The components
are used in many electronic devices, including watches and computers.
7. Microcontrollers: Microcontrollers are small computers used to control a multitude of
devices, such as power tools, remote controls, medical equipment and office
machines.
8. Transformers: Built with two coils of wire, transformers are commonly used to step up
or step down power.
9. Batteries: Batteries convert chemical energy to electrical energy. The two different
cells of a battery are anode (+) and cathode (-).
10. Fuses: Fuses help preserve components from overloading with excessive current. A
fuse consists of connection body, support, contacts, and metal-fuse material such as
zinc or copper.
11. Relays: These electromechanical switches shut power on or off. A relay includes an
electromagnet, an armature, a series of electrical contacts and a spring.
12. Switches: Switches interrupt current. The four types of switches are: single pole single
throw (SPST), single pole double throw (SPDT), double pole single throw (DPST),
and double pole double throw (DPDT).
13. Motors: Motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Key components
include a rotor, stator, bearings, conduit box, enclosure, and eye bolt.
14. Circuit Breakers: As a protective device, a circuit breaker can be controlled with a
remote switch. It is designed to protect the circuit from overloading or a short circuit.
V. REFERENCES

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