Abstract
Electrical engineering is among the largest and most diverse professions. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), which is the principal technical and professional organization for electrical engineers, is the largest professional organization in the world. Within the IEEE alone, there are more than 40 technical societies, each focused on a sub-area of electrical engineering. These are listed in Table
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- 1.
Current in an arc is visible, but unless we are designing an electric welder, we usually try to avoid arcs.
- 2.
The essential property of time is perhaps best captured by Yogi Berra’s definition: “Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.” The essential properties of charge are given in Chapter 2.
- 3.
One subject’s laws can be another subject’s derived results; for example, Ohm’s law (a law in circuits courses) is a derived result in some more fundamental courses.
- 4.
A paradigm example is one that illustrates application of a law, derived result, or procedure in the simplest possible setting, uncluttered by need for other laws, results, or procedures.
- 5.
SI System is redundant, because SI stands for Systeme Internationale, which (obviously) is French for international system. Nonetheless, “the SI system” is what everyone calls it.
- 6.
Actually, which seven dimensions are defined as basic is a matter of choice. Any seven independent dimensions would do, but history and common sense have ruled in favor of the seven given here. There is much wider agreement on which seven quantities are basic than on the standard units for those seven.
- 7.
Of course, the coefficients of a Taylor series can be dimensioned, and one could define different series for (e.g.) the logarithm of different physical quantities. Such an approach would be cumbersome, at best.
- 8.
Some mathematical software (e.g., Mathcad) that allow units to be used insist that they be attached to all quantities, even those having zero magnitude. For example, if you ask Mathcad to compare 10 s to 0, you will get an error. You must compare 10 s to 0 s.
- 9.
The abbreviation lb stands for libra, an ancient Roman unit of weight which was presumably the predecessor to the English pound. See Yunus A. Cengel and Michael Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach (3rd Ed.), McGraw-Hill, 1998.
- 10.
An especially complete table of conversion factors is given in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (76th Ed.), edited by David R. Lide, CRC Press, New York, 1995.
- 11.
Resistance is defined in Chapter 2.
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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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Glisson, T.H. (2011). Introduction. In: Introduction to Circuit Analysis and Design. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9443-8_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9443-8_1
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