Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical power supply. It now covers a range of subtopics including power, electronics, control systems, signal processing and telecommunications.
Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a sub-field of engineering that deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power as well as the electrical devices connected to such systems including generators, motors and transformers
Electronics is the branch of science and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits.
A control system is a device or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or systems.
Signal processing is an area of electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time, to perform useful operations on those signals. Signals of interest can include sound, images, time-varying measurement values and sensor data, for example biological data such as electrocardiograms, control system signals, telecommunication transmission signals such as radio signals, and many others.
Telecommunication is the transmission of information, over significant distances, to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, or sent by loud whistles, for example. In the modern age of electricity and electronics, telecommunications now also includes the use of electrical devices such as telegraphs, telephones, and teletypes, the use of radio and microwave communications, as well as fiber optics and their associated electronics, plus the use of the orbiting satellites and the Internet.
Electrical engineers design new and better electronics. They also test equipment and solve problems. A project starts by deciding what the new electronics will do. Then, the engineer designs the circuits and other parts of the electronics. Engineers might draw their designs using a computer. Later, the engineers test their designs and make them better. Many projects don't work at first. The engineers have to figure out why and then fix them. Electrical engineers work on many kinds of products. They might work on cars, robots, cell phone systems, the lighting and wiring in buildings, and radar and navigation systems. Some examples of high-tech projects that electrical and electronics engineers work on are global positioning systems that can pinpoint a car's location, giant generators that can power entire cities, or a new design for an airplane's electrical system. Engineers work in offices, labs, or industrial plants. Many work a normal 40-hour week. At times, they work longer to meet deadlines
Answered By: Sheley - 4/26/2011 |