A branch of engineering which studies the practical applications of electricity and electronics. Until the 1940s electrical engineering was a small part of the general field of engineering, confined to communications, lighting, and the generation and transmission of electrical power. As progress was made in the area of electrical and electronic communications, it developed into a separate field, now dealing with the production, distribution, control, and use of electricity in all its forms. Production aspects include the design of generators run by water power (hydroelectricity), coal, oil, and nuclear fuels. Distribution and control concern the delivery of electricity to the consumer: transmission systems need to be designed which are safe and efficient. Any devices which use electricity fall within the field, such as radio, radar, lighting, motors, power generators, and transmission systems. Electronic engineering developed as a subdivision of electrical engineering, and is now primarily concerned with automation, missile control systems, satellites, spacecraft, and communication systems.
Electrical engineering (sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering) is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field now covers a range of sub-disciplines including those that deal with power, optoelectronics, digital electronics, analog electronics, artificial intelligence, control systems, electronics, signal processing and telecommunications. Where a distinction is made, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large-scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control, whereas electronic engineering deals with the study of small-scale electronic systems including computers and integrated circuits. Another way of looking at the distinction is that electrical engineers are usually concerned with using electricity to transmit energy, while electronics engineers are concerned with using electricity to transmit information.
History
Early developments
Electricity has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the 17th century, but it was not until the 19th century that research into the subject started to intensify. It was not until the late 19th century that universities started to offer degrees in electrical engineering. The Darmstadt University of Technology founded the first chair and the first faculty of electrical engineering worldwide in 1882. In 1883 Darmstadt University of Technology and Cornell University introduced the world's first courses of study in electrical engineering and in 1885 the University College London founded the first chair of electrical engineering in the United Kingdom. The University of Missouri subsequently established the first department of electrical engineering in the United States in 1886.
During this period, the work concerning electrical engineering increased dramatically.
The efforts of the two did much to further electrical engineering—Tesla's work on induction motors and polyphase systems influenced the field for years to come, while Edison's work on telegraphy and his development of the stock ticker proved lucrative for his company, which ultimately became General Electric. However, by the end of the 19th century, other key figures in the progress of electrical engineering were beginning to emerge.
Modern developments
Emergence of radio and electronicsDuring the development of radio, many scientists and inventors contributed to radio technology and electronics.
Education
Electrical engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in electrical engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually four or five years and the completed degree may be designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Technology or Bachelor of Applied Science depending upon the university. The degree generally includes units covering physics, mathematics, project management and specific topics in electrical engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the sub-disciplines of electrical engineering.
Some electrical engineers also choose to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master of Engineering/Master of Science, a Master of Engineering Management, a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering or an Engineer's degree. The Master and Engineer's degree may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. In the United Kingdom and various other European countries, the Master of Engineering is often considered an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the Bachelor of Engineering.
Practicing engineers
In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards professional certification and the degree program itself is certified by a professional body. After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience requirements) before being certified. Once certified the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa ), Chartered Engineer (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European Engineer (in much of the European Union). For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may seal engineering work for public and private clients". In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the tort of negligence and, in extreme cases, the charge of criminal negligence. An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as building codes and legislation pertaining to environmental law.
Professional bodies of note for electrical engineers include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). The IEEE claims to produce 30 percent of the world's literature in electrical engineering, has over 360,000 members worldwide and holds over 300 conferences annually. The IEE publishes 14 journals, has a worldwide membership of 120,000, and claims to be the largest professional engineering society in Europe.
In countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States electrical engineers make up around 0.25% of the labour force (see note). However, in terms of electrical engineering graduates per-capita, electrical engineering graduates would probably be most numerous in countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
Tools and work
From the Global Positioning System to electric power generation, electrical engineers are responsible for a wide range of technologies. They design, develop, test and supervise the deployment of electrical systems and electronic devices. For example, they may work on the design of telecommunication systems, the operation of electric power stations, the lighting and wiring of buildings, the design of household appliances or the electrical control of industrial machinery.
Fundamental to the discipline are the sciences of physics and mathematics as these help to obtain both a qualitative and quantitative description of how such systems will work. Today most engineering work involves the use of computers and it is commonplace to use computer-aided design programs when designing electrical systems.
Although most electrical engineers will understand basic circuit theory (that is the interactions of elements such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors and inductors in a circuit), the theories employed by engineers generally depend upon the work they do. For example, quantum mechanics and solid state physics might be relevant to an engineer working on VLSI (the design of integrated circuits), but are largely irrelevant to engineers working with macroscopic electrical systems. Perhaps the most important technical skills for electrical engineers are reflected in university programs, which emphasize strong numerical skills, computer literacy and the ability to understand the technical language and concepts that relate to electrical engineering.
For most engineers technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and strong written communication skills are therefore very important.
The workplaces of electrical engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. During their working life, electrical engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including scientists, electricians, computer programmers and other engineers.
Sub-disciplines
Electrical engineering has many sub-disciplines, the most popular of which are listed below. Although there are electrical engineers who focus exclusively on one of these sub-disciplines, many deal with a combination of them. Sometimes certain fields, such as electronic engineering and computer engineering, are considered separate disciplines in their own right.
Power
Power engineering deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices. Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it. Such systems are called on-grid power systems and may supply the grid with additional power, draw power from the grid or do both. Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid, called off-grid power systems, which in some cases are preferable to on-grid systems.
Control
Control engineering focuses on the modelling of a diverse range of dynamic systems and the design of controllers that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner. To implement such controllers electrical engineers may use electrical circuits, digital signal processors and microcontrollers. Control engineering has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of commercial airliners to the cruise control present in many modern automobiles.
Control engineers often utilize feedback when designing control systems.
Electronics
Electronic engineering involves the design and testing of electronic circuits that use the properties of components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors to achieve a particular functionality.
Prior to the second world war, the subject was commonly known as radio engineering and basically was restricted to aspects of communications and radar, commercial radio and early television.
Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by humans. By contrast, integrated circuits packed a large number—often millions—of tiny electrical components, mainly transistors, into a small chip around the size of a coin.
Microelectronics
Microelectronics engineering deals with the design of very small electronic circuit components for use in an integrated circuit or sometimes for use on their own as a general electronic component.
Microelectronic components are created by chemically fabricating wafers of semiconductors such as silicon (at higher frequencies, gallium arsenide and indium phosphide) to obtain the desired transport of electronic charge and control of current. The field of microelectronics involves a significant amount of chemistry and material science and requires the electronic engineer working in the field to have a very good working knowledge of the effects of quantum mechanics.
Signal processing
Signal processing deals with the analysis and manipulation of signals.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications engineering focuses on the transmission of information across a channel such as a coax cable, optical fibre or free space. The choice of modulation affects the cost and performance of a system and these two factors must be balanced carefully by the engineer.
Once the transmission characteristics of a system are determined, telecommunication engineers design the transmitters and receivers needed for such systems.
Instrumentation engineering
Instrumentation engineering deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as pressure, flow and temperature.
Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the sensors of larger electrical systems. For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control engineering.
Computers
Computer engineering deals with the design of computers and computer systems. Computer engineers may also work on a system's software. However, the design of complex software systems is often the domain of software engineering, which is usually considered a separate discipline. Desktop computers represent a tiny fraction of the devices a computer engineer might work on, as computer-like architectures are now found in a range of devices including video game consoles and DVD players.
Related disciplines
Mechatronics is an engineering discipline which deals with the convergence of electrical and mechanical systems. Such combined systems are known as electromechanical systems and have widespread adoption. Examples include automated manufacturing systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and various subsystems of aircraft and automobiles.
The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to macroscopic systems but futurists have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices.
Biomedical engineering is another related discipline, concerned with the design of medical equipment.
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