I’ve always been very mechanically minded, although when it comes to electronics and circuits, I’m baffled.
How can pieces of silicon and metal make my computer turn on, to being able to run games and programmes?
In: Technology
Certain materials called conductors or semiconductors can make electrons “flow” at the molecular level. As a very basic example imagine water going through a hose. This doesn’t apply to all electrical circuits but for a basic understanding it is enough. There are different types of electricity, Alternating current (called AC) and direct current ( DC). Basically AC is for stuff you plug into your home using those pronged cords and DC is for batteries. The electric circuits you describe is different from the electricity that powers your house or your oven. Fundamentally it is the same concepts. Electricity is defined as the flow of electrons. They don’t flow differently but for larger things like powering homes resistance is usually bad and for smaller things like microchips or your computer motherboard resistance is necessary because the amount of electricity is so small you don’t want to fry it. Of course electricity on all levels must be regulated to the correct amount. It isn’t just an “amount” to be set to. For example you can’t just pour a certain amount of water into a plumbing system and expect it to work. Pressure and resistance in an electrical circuit must also be regulated. For electronics, which is different than residential electricity or construction electricity, there are a plethora of devices that are used to achieve these things. I’m not gonna lie to you, electricity can be confusing. I myself had only taken an introductory course to electricity and electronics mixed in with more advanced classes. But if you take your time to figure things out, basic problems can boil down to simple arithmetics. I realize my answer might be all over the place so if there’s anything you still want to know that I didn’t say, feel free to message me back and I’ll do my best to explain or hopefully someone else can provide a better answer than me. I love learning the trades so I’d be happy to help you excel in your learning.
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