Electronics is the part of the physics and technology on the emission and propagation of electrons in a vacuum or in matter.
More specifically, the electronics is the set of knowledge and theoretical methodologies and practices used for the design and implementation of systems and hardware equipment that can process signals in the form of physical quantities , often containing information for various types of applications.
The electronic circuits consist of electronic components , active and passive, connected to means of wires or conductive paths , usually metal , through which circulate electric currents.
From the theoretical point of view the electronic adopts both the laws of classical electromagnetism and electrical both quantum mechanics that is the basis of semiconductor technology. They are also used mathematical methods developed by systems theory and from the algebra of Boole.
The active electronic components, ie, diodes and transistors, are covered by a comprehensive theoretical treatment and it is possible to predict the behaviour under all conditions; Also some types of circuits, such as low-power linear amplifiers, operational amplifiers and oscillators, have a basic theory that can guide the designer in part, but in general the design of a new circuit is a job that needs to combine theory and creativity.
The electronics is divided into two areas:
- analogue electronics, regard about analogue signals, that vary in time in a continuous manner, and that in principle could take any value at any given instant of time (for example, voices, sounds, light intensity etc..): typical operations performed on these signals are the amplification, modulation, mixing, filtering.
- digital electronics, is that instead of electrical signals that can assume only certain values “legitimate” voltage, conventionally two values using the binary system, “high” or “low” that are associated with the logical values ”true “and” false “. In this case it refers to binary signals which are typically subjected to Boolean logic operations such as AND, the OR, the NOT so. This is precisely the electronics industry that has enabled the birth and development of modern electronic computer.
The most common electronic components used are the following: resistor, capacitor, inductor, semiconductor devices : diode, transistor, thermionic valves, modular components: chip, operational amplifier
