Nuts and Volts - February 2017

Electronic vs. Electric

I just started reading the September 2016 issue and the Developing Perspectives column. I expected it to deal more with the definition of "electronics," but you mostly speak of how to define an enthusiast.

To me, electronics means a set of electronic switches assembled and organized to do a task. The level of detail of the physics involved is irrelevant.

Whether your electronic switches are made of transistors, computer chips, or vacuum tubes is irrelevant. Whether you used a soldering iron is irrelevant. How many times you have built the same project is irrelevant.

If a device contains electronic switches, it is an electronic device. If it uses electrical power, but the only switch is the on/off switch, it is electrical, not electronic.

For example, a typical electric knife has just one switch. It can be turned on and off. If you're lucky, you might have a multi-speed knife, which changes its speed when you manually turn or slide a selector switch, but this is also an electrical device — not an electronic one.

If your knife contains a circuit board and a keypad where you can punch in the desired speed, then it is probably an electronic knife.

This distinction especially bothers me when people refer to electric cigarettes as "electronic." There are no electronic switches inside. The only circuit is a simple heating element and the only switch is a simple airflow-activated on/off switch.

Xenophon J. Garcia Tempe, AZ

Good that you have time to catch up on your reading. Thanks for the comments. I agree with you on how electric has somehow morphed into electronic, at least in marketing

Continued on page 64

February 2017 7

- USB - Ethernet - Web server - Modbus - CNC (Mach3/4)

- IO - up to 256 microsteps - 50 V / 6 A ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; - Isolated - up to 50MS/s - resolution up to 12bit - Lowest power consumption ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; - 7 in 1: Oscilloscope, FFT, X/Y, Recorder, ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;; - up to 32 microsteps - 30 V / 2. 5 A ;;;;; - Encoders - LCD ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;