NHEG-Magazine-January-February

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Electronics - Basics
The Importance of Safety - Part i
www.NewHeightsEducation.org
Are you thinking about travelling abroad to visit a new place? Exploring new locations is always fun and
enjoyable no matter whether you’re by yourself or with someone else. However, having fun shouldn’t be
your only concern once you reach the destination. The importance of safety should always be a concern for
individuals who like to travel.
Here are some advices on how to be safe when you’re travelling and visiting new places.
Image by Fran Wyner
Every gamut of gadgets is beauty in a sense. Gadgets like mobile phones, TVs, washing machines and automobiles
are part of our lives, but for an electronics engineer, the process of making a device work is magic.
This article will help you understand the basics of electronics and of building such devices.
1. Basic Terminology
We should be familiar with voltage, current and resistance. The common water-and-pipes analogy [1] explains
these terms: the current may be seen as the amount of water flowing through a pipe, while the voltage
is similar to the water pressure and the resistance is the width of the pipe. All of these terms are governed
by Ohm’s law, which states that the current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the
voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance.
I = E/R
where I is the current in amperes (A) E is the voltage (volts) R is the resistance (ohms)
2. Circuit Diagrams
The schematic diagram combines the components of electronics and makes a model to construct the electronic
circuits. It consists of symbols used to represent each of the components used. The skill sets needed
for constructing the electronic circuits are the ability to design a printed circuit board (PCB) and to solder the
electronic components in the circuits.
3. Basic Components
- Resistor - a passive element that takes control over the circuit
- Capacitor - made up of dielectric material sandwiched between two metallic plates to store charge and release
the charge when needed
- Transistor - a three-terminal device—namely base, collector and emitter—with two versions, NPN and PNP.
Functions similarly to an electronic switch.
- Diode - a two-terminal PN junction electronic component that conducts current in one direction - Inductor -
a coil of wire that stores energy in a magnetic field when electric current flows through it
Article by Madhumitha Prabakaran
References
1) The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Charles Petzold.
48 NHEG Magazine | January - February 2019
Image by Khrista Cendana
Are you thinking about travelling abroad to visit a new place? Exploring new locations is always fun and
enjoyable no matter whether you’re by yourself or with someone else. However, having fun shouldn’t be
your only concern once you reach the destination. The importance of safety should always be a concern for
individuals who like to travel.
Here are some advices on how to be safe when you’re travelling and visiting new places.
1) Always Be Mindful About The People Around You
2) Watch Your Belongings Wherever You Go
Don’t always assume that the place you’ll be staying is a safe place. Check the internet or listen to what the
employees of the hotel say. Example: Barcelona - there’re so many pickpockets there that you HAVE to be
EXTRA careful on who you befriend.
3) Don’t Leave Your Belongings Unattended
4) TSA Padlock
Use TSA locks so that you don’t have to worry about the TSA breaking your suitcase lock. The locks vary in
price, $6-$30+, depending on where you buy them.
These advices come from personal experience as I don’t want anyone to go through what happened to my
family and me.
Barcelona, Spain, is one of the busiest tourist spots in the world. Are you thinking about going there? If
you are, there is one place that I would advise you to be extra cautious, and that place is Las Ramblas. Las
Ramblas is somewhat like a marketplace, and as thousands of tourists visit, it is also a thriving ground for
thieves.
Pickpockets aka thieves are not like ordinary thieves. They dress like tourists, and when you’re distracted, the
thieves will snatch away your belongings. While my family and I were eating at Burger King at Las Ramblas
market, my dad sat at the table while my mom and I went to the restroom. The three of us left our bags on an
empty chair at our table, but when we came back to the table, my dad’s bag was missing. He thought we took
it with us. When he figured out that it wasn’t the case, we called for the manager. I thought that it was one of
the people who distracted us, but I had no proof. There was no CCTV, and nobody saw anything. We were told
to report it and to go to the consulate. There, we meet other Americans who were there for the same reason.
Dealing with the aftermath of the pickpocketing made us lose two days of tour. It was an experience that I
never want to repeat.
January - February 2019 | NHEG Magazine 49