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{{Short description|Branch of engineering}}
'''Electrical engineering''' is an ] discipline that deals with the study and application of ] and ]. Its practitioners are called '''electrical engineers'''. Electrical engineering is a broad field that encompasses many subfields including those that deal with ], ]s, ] and ]s.
{{Distinguish|Electronic engineering}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}


{{Infobox occupation
Electrical engineering is sometimes distinguished from ]. Where this distinction is made, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large scale electrical systems such as ] and ] where as electronics engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with small scale electronic systems such as ] and ]. However electronics engineering can also be viewed as a subfield of electrical engineering and this is how electronics engineering is treated in this article.
| name = Electrical engineering
| image = File:Umspannwerk-Pulverdingen 380kV-Trennschalter.jpg
| caption = A long row of ]s
| official_names = Electrical engineer
<!------------Details------------------->
| type =
| activity_sector = ], ]s, ], ], ]s, ], ]s, ], ], ], and ]s
| competencies = Technical knowledge, management skills, advanced mathematics, systems design, physics, abstract thinking, analytical thinking, philosophy of logic (see also ])
| formation =
| employment_field = ], ], ], ], ] and ]
| related_occupation =
| average_salary =
}}


'''Electrical engineering''' is an ] discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use ], ], and ]. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the latter half of the 19th century after the ] of the ], the telephone, and ] generation, distribution, and use.
== History ==


Electrical engineering is divided into a wide range of different fields, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]s, ], and ] and ]. Many of these disciplines overlap with other engineering branches, spanning a huge number of specializations including hardware engineering, ], electromagnetics and waves, ], ], ], renewable energies, mechatronics/control, and electrical materials science.{{efn|For more see ].}}
=== Early developments in electricity ===


Electrical engineers typically hold a ] in electrical engineering, electronic or electrical and electronic engineering. Practicing engineers may have ] and be members of a ] or an international standards organization. These include the ] (IEC), the ] (NSPE), the ] (IEEE) and the ] (IET, formerly the IEE).
] has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the seventeenth century. However it was not until the nineteenth century that research into the subject started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of ] who in ] quantified the relationship between the ] and ] in a conductor and the work of ] who in ] discovered ].


Electrical engineers work in a very wide range of industries and the skills required are likewise variable. These range from ] to the management skills of a ]. The tools and equipment that an individual engineer may need are similarly variable, ranging from a simple ] to sophisticated design and manufacturing software.
However during these years the study of electricity was largely considered to be a subfield of ] and hence the domain of ]s. It was not until the late nineteenth century that ] started to offer ] in electrical engineering. The ] established the first chair of electrical engineering worldwide in ] and offered a four year study course of electrical engineering in ]. In ], ] offered the first course on electrical engineering in the ]. This course was organized by Professor Charles Cross who was head of the Physics department and who later became a founder of the ] (which later became the ]). In ], the ] founded the first chair of electrical engineering in the ] and, in ], the ] established the first department of electrical engineering in the United States. {{ref|ryder}}


==History==
During this period, work in the area increased dramatically. In ], Edison switched on the world's first large-scale electrical supply network that provided 110 volts ] to fifty-nine customers in lower Manhattan. In ], Nikola Tesla filed a number of patents related to a competing form of power distribution known as ]. In the following years a bitter rivalry between Tesla and Edison, known as the "]", took place over the preferred method of distribution.
{{Main|History of electrical engineering}}


Electricity has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the early 17th century. ] was a prominent early electrical scientist, and was the first to draw a clear distinction between ] and ]. He is credited with establishing the term "electricity".{{sfn|Martinsen|Grimnes|2011|p=411}} He also designed the ]: a device that detects the presence of statically charged objects. In 1762 Swedish professor ] invented a device later named ] that produced a static electric charge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Voltaic Pile {{!}} Distinctive Collections Spotlights |url=https://libraries.mit.edu/collections/vail-collection/topics/electricity/the-voltaic-pile/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=libraries.mit.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> By 1800 ] had developed the ], a forerunner of the electric battery.
Tesla's work on ]s and ]s influenced electrical engineering for years to come. Edison's work on telegraphy and his development of the ] proved lucrative for his company (which eventually became one of the world's largest companies, ]). As well as the contributions of Edison and Tesla, a number of other figures played an equally important role in the progress of electrical engineering at this time.


===19th century===
===The emergence of radio and electronics ===
] formed the foundation of electric motor technology.]]


In the 19th century, research into the subject started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of ], who discovered in 1820 that an electric current produces a magnetic field that will deflect a compass needle; of ], who in 1825 invented the ]; of ] and ], who invented the ] in 1835; of ], who in 1827 quantified the relationship between the ] and ] in a ]; of ], the discoverer of ] in 1831; and of ], who in 1873 published a unified ] of electricity and ] in his treatise ''Electricity and Magnetism''.{{sfn|Lambourne|2010|p=11}}
In ], ] made the world's first wireless radio transmission. In ], ] invented the first radio tube, the ]. One year later, in ], ] and ] independently developed the amplifier tube, called the ].


In 1782, ] developed and presented in ] probably the world's first form of ], using 24 different wires, one for each letter of the alphabet. This telegraph connected two rooms. It was an electrostatic telegraph that moved gold leaf through electrical conduction.
In ], ] built the first ] using simple techniques and based on the ]. The first colour television followed in ]. In the same year, the first successful transatlantic television transmission was made from London to New York. However, Baird's invention became outdated in ] when ] introduced the ] and thus the ].


In 1795, ] proposed an electrostatic telegraph system. Between 1803 and 1804, he worked on electrical telegraphy, and in 1804, he presented his report at the Royal Academy of Natural Sciences and Arts of Barcelona. Salva's electrolyte telegraph system was very innovative though it was greatly influenced by and based upon two discoveries made in Europe in 1800—Alessandro Volta's electric battery for generating an electric current and William Nicholson and Anthony Carlyle's electrolysis of water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 January 2016 |title=Francesc Salvà i Campillo : Biography |url=https://ethw.org/Francesc_Salv%C3%A0_i_Campillo |access-date=25 March 2019 |website=ethw.org |language=en-US}}</ref> ]y may be considered the first example of electrical engineering.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://distantwriting.co.uk/introduction.html | title = Distant Writing: A History of the Telegraph Companies in Britain between 1838 and 1868: 2. Introduction | last = Roberts | first = Steven | quote = Using these discoveries a number of inventors or rather ‘adapters’ appeared, taking this new knowledge, transforming it into useful ideas with commercial utility; the first of these ‘products’ was the use of electricity to transmit information between distant points, the electric telegraph. }}</ref> Electrical engineering became a profession in the later 19th century. Practitioners had created a global ] network, and the first professional electrical engineering institutions were founded in the UK and the US to support the new discipline. ] created an electric telegraph system in 1816 and documented his vision of how the world could be transformed by electricity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sir Francis Ronalds: Father of the Electric Telegraph|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|publisher=Imperial College Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1-78326-917-4|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=2016|title=Sir Francis Ronalds and the Electric Telegraph|journal=International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology|volume=86|pages=42–55|doi=10.1080/17581206.2015.1119481|s2cid=113256632}}</ref> Over 50 years later, he joined the new Society of Telegraph Engineers (soon to be renamed the ]) where he was regarded by other members as the first of their cohort.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=July 2016|title=Francis Ronalds (1788–1873): The First Electrical Engineer?|journal=Proceedings of the IEEE|volume=104|issue=7|pages=1489–1498|doi=10.1109/JPROC.2016.2571358|s2cid=20662894}}</ref> By the end of the 19th century, the world had been forever changed by the rapid communication made possible by the engineering development of land-lines, ]s, and, from about 1890, ].
In ], ] presented the ], the world's first functional computer. In ], the ] (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of ] and ] followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives. Early examples include the ] and the ].


Practical applications and advances in such fields created an increasing need for standardized ]. They led to the international standardization of the units ], ], ], ], ], and ]. This was achieved at an international conference in ] in 1893.{{Sfn|Rosenberg|2008|p=9}} The publication of these standards formed the basis of future advances in standardization in various industries, and in many countries, the definitions were immediately recognized in relevant legislation.{{sfn|Tunbridge|1992}}
The invention of the transistor in ] by ], ] and ] opened the door for more compact devices and led to the development of the ] in ] by ] and independently in ] by ]. In ], G.C. Devol and J. Engelberger invented and built in the USA the world's first industrial robot. Such a robot was used for the first time in ] in industrial production by General Motors.


During these years, the study of electricity was largely considered to be a subfield of ] since early electrical technology was considered ] in nature. The ] founded the world's first department of electrical engineering in 1882 and introduced the first-degree course in electrical engineering in 1883.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etit.tu-darmstadt.de/fachbereich/profil/historie/index.en.jsp|title=Historie|last=Darmstadt|first=Technische Universität|website=Technische Universität Darmstadt|language=en|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> The first electrical engineering degree program in the United States was started at ] (MIT) in the physics department under Professor Charles Cross, {{Sfn|Wildes|Lindgren|1985|p=19}} though it was ] to produce the world's first electrical engineering graduates in 1885.<ref>{{cite web | title=History|publisher=School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell| date=Spring 1994| orig-date=Later updated|url=http://www.ece.cornell.edu/ece/about/history.cfm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606163120/http://www.ece.cornell.edu/ece/about/history.cfm | archive-date=6 June 2013 | url-status=dead}}</ref> The first course in electrical engineering was taught in 1883 in Cornell's ].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/about/upload/Cornell-Engineering-history.pdf |title=A tradition of leadership and innovation: a history of Cornell Engineering|year=2009|archive-date=3 March 2016| publication-place=Ithaca, NY | isbn=978-0-918531-05-6 | oclc=455196772 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165241/http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/about/upload/Cornell-Engineering-history.pdf |url-status=dead |last1=Roger Segelken |first1=H. }}</ref>
In ], ] at ] invented the ] and thus ignited the development of the ]. Hoff's invention was part of an order by a Japanese company for a desktop computer, which Hoff wanted to build as cheaply as possible. The first realization of the microprocessor was the Intel 4004, a 4-bit processor, in ], but only in ] did the Intel 8080, an 8-bit processor, make the building of the first personal computer, the ], possible.


In about 1885, Cornell President ] established the first Department of Electrical Engineering in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://president.cornell.edu/andrew-dickson-white/|title=Andrew Dickson White &#124; Office of the President|website=president.cornell.edu}}</ref> In the same year, ] founded the first chair of electrical engineering in Great Britain.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Electrical Engineer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLLmAAAAMAAJ|year=1911|page=54}}</ref> Professor Mendell P. Weinbach at ] established the electrical engineering department in 1886.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://engineering.missouri.edu/ece/about/department-history/|title=Department History – Electrical & Computer Engineering|access-date=5 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117054305/http://engineering.missouri.edu/ece/about/department-history/|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Afterwards, universities and ] gradually started to offer electrical engineering programs to their students all over the world.
== Training and certification ==
Electrical engineers typically possess an ] with a major in electrical engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually three or four years and the completed degree may be designated as a ], ] or ] depending upon the university.


During these decades the use of electrical engineering increased dramatically. In 1882, ] switched on the world's first large-scale electric power network that provided 110 volts—] (DC)—to 59 customers on ] in New York City. In 1884, ] invented the ] allowing for more efficient electric power generation. ], with its ability to transmit power more efficiently over long distances via the use of ]s, developed rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s with transformer designs by ], ] and ] (later called ZBD transformers), ], ] and ] Practical ] designs including ]s were independently invented by ] and ] and further developed into a practical ] form by ] and ].{{Sfn|Heertje|Perlman|1990|p=138}} ] and ] contributed to the theoretical basis of alternating current engineering.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5FqsDPVQ2MC&q=theoretical%20%20alternating%20current%20%20Oliver%20Heaviside&pg=PA1229|title=Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences|first=I.|last=Grattan-Guinness|date=1 January 2003|publisher=JHU Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780801873973}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lew5IC5piCwC&q=theoretical%20%20alternating%20current%20%20Charles%20Steinmetz&pg=PA329|title=Mathematics in Historical Context|first=Jeff|last=Suzuki|date=27 August 2009|publisher=MAA|via=Google Books|isbn=9780883855706}}</ref> The spread in the use of AC set off in the United States what has been called the '']'' between a ] backed AC system and a Thomas Edison backed DC power system, with AC being adopted as the overall standard.{{sfn|Severs|Leise|2011|p=145}}
The degree generally includes units covering ], ], ] and specific topics in electrical and electronics engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the subfields of electrical engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more subfields towards the end of the degree.


===Early 20th century===
Some electrical engineers also choose to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a ], a ] in Engineering or an ]. The Master and Engineer's degree may consist of either ], ] or a mixture of the two. The ] consists of a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to ]. In the United Kingdom and various other European countries, the ] is often considered an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the ].
], known for his pioneering work on long-distance ]]]


During the ], many scientists and inventors contributed to ] and electronics. The mathematical work of ] during the 1850s had shown the relationship of different forms of ] including the possibility of invisible airborne waves (later called "radio waves"). In his classic physics experiments of 1888, ] proved Maxwell's theory by transmitting ]s with a ], and detected them by using simple electrical devices. Other physicists experimented with these new waves and in the process developed devices for transmitting and detecting them. In 1895, ] began work on a way to adapt the known methods of transmitting and detecting these "Hertzian waves" into a purpose-built commercial ] system. Early on, he sent wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles. In December 1901, he sent wireless waves that were not affected by the curvature of the Earth. Marconi later transmitted the wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, ], and St. John's, ], a distance of {{convert|2100|mi|km}}.<ref> retrieved 21 June 2008.</ref>
In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards ] and the degree program itself is certified by a ]. 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 ] (in the ] and ]), ] (in the ], ], ], ] and ]), ] (in ]) or ] (in much of the ]).


] communication was first investigated by ] during 1894{{ndash}}1896, when he reached an ] of up to 60{{nbsp}}] in his experiments.<ref>{{cite web |title=Milestones: First Millimeter-wave Communication Experiments by J.C. Bose, 1894–96 |url=https://ethw.org/Milestones:First_Millimeter-wave_Communication_Experiments_by_J.C._Bose,_1894-96 |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> He also introduced the use of ] junctions to detect radio waves,<ref name=emerson>{{cite book | last = Emerson | first = D. T. | title = 1997 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest | chapter = The work of Jagadis Chandra Bose: 100 years of mm-wave research | publisher = IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Research | volume = 45 | issue = 12 | pages = 2267–2273 | year = 1997 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=09Zsv97IH1MC&pg=PA88 | doi = 10.1109/MWSYM.1997.602853 | isbn = 9780986488511|bibcode = 1997imsd.conf..553E | citeseerx = 10.1.1.39.8748 | s2cid = 9039614 }} reprinted in Igor Grigorov, Ed., '''', Vol. 2, No.3, pp. 87–96.</ref> when he patented the radio ] in 1901.<ref name="computerhistory-timeline">{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/timeline/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=] |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="computerhistory-1901">{{cite web |title=1901: Semiconductor Rectifiers Patented as "Cat's Whisker" Detectors |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/semiconductor-rectifiers-patented-as-cats-whisker-detectors/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=] |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>
The advantages of certification vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may...seal engineering work for public and private clients". {{ref|nspe}} This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as ] Engineers Act. {{ref|qea}} In other countries, such as Australia, no such legislation exists. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a ] that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion. {{ref|ethics}} In this way these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract law. In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the ] and, in extreme cases, the charge of ]. {{ref|shuman}} An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as ] and legislation pertaining to ].


In 1897, ] introduced the ] as part of an ], a crucial enabling technology for ].{{sfn|Abramson|1955|p=22}} ] invented the first radio tube, the ], in 1904. Two years later, ] and ] independently developed the amplifier tube, called the ].{{Sfn|Huurdeman|2003|p=226}}
Significant professional bodies for electrical engineers include the ] (IEEE) and the ] (IEE). The IEEE claims to produce 30 percent of the world's literature on electrical engineering, has over 360,000 members worldwide and holds over 300 conferences anually. {{ref|IEEE}} The IEE publishes 14 journals, has a worldwide membership of 120,000, certifies Chartered Engineers in the United Kingdom and claims to be the largest professional engineering society in Europe. {{ref|IEE1}} {{ref|IEE2}}


In 1920, ] developed the ] which would eventually lead to the development of the ] in 1946 by ].<ref>{{cite web | title = Albert W. Hull (1880–1966) | work = IEEE History Center | url = http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/hull.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020602014513/http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/hull.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2 June 2002 | access-date = 22 January 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Who Invented Microwaves? | url = http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html | access-date =22 January 2006 }}</ref> In 1934, the ] began to make strides toward ] (which also uses the magnetron) under the direction of Dr Wimperis, culminating in the operation of the first radar station at ] in August 1936.<ref>{{cite web | title = Early Radar History | work = Peneley Radar Archives | url = http://www.penleyradararchives.org.uk/history/introduction.htm | access-date =22 January 2006 }}</ref>
== Tools and work ==
From the ] to ], 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 ], the operation of ]s, the ] and ] of ]s, the design of ] or the electrical ] of industrial machinery. {{ref|DoL1}}
] is one of many projects an electrical engineer might work on]]


In 1941, ] presented the ], the world's first fully functional and programmable computer using electromechanical parts. In 1943, ] designed and built the ], the world's first fully functional, electronic, digital and programmable computer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Raúl |last=Rojas |contribution=The history of Konrad Zuse's early computing machines |page=237 |editor1-first=Raúl |editor1-last=Rojas |editor2-first=Ulf |editor2-last=Hashagen |title=The First Computers—History and Architectures History of Computing |publisher=MIT Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-262-68137-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Anthony E. |last=Sale |contribution=The Colossus of Bletchley Park |pages=354–355 |editor1-first=Raúl |editor1-last=Rojas |editor2-first=Ulf |editor2-last=Hashagen |title=The First Computers—History and Architectures History of Computing |publisher=MIT Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-262-68137-7}}</ref> In 1946, the ] (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of ] and ] followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives.<ref>{{cite web | title = The ENIAC Museum Online | url = http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~museum/guys.html | access-date =18 January 2006 }}</ref>
Fundamental to the discipline are the sciences of ] and ] as these help to obtain both a ] and ] description of how such systems will work. Today most ] work involves the use of ] and it is commonplace to use ] programs when designing electrical systems. Nevertheless, the ability to sketch ideas is still invaluable for quickly communicating with others.


In 1948, ] published "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" which mathematically describes the passage of information with uncertainty (]).
Although most electrical engineers will understand basic ], the theories employed by engineers generally depend upon the work they do. For example, ] and ] might be relevant to an engineer working on ] but are largely irrelevant to engineers working with macroscopic electrical systems. Even ] may not be relevant to a person designing telecommunication systems that use ] components. Perhaps the most important technical skills for electrical engineers are reflected in university programs, which emphasize ], ] and the ability to understand the ] that relate to electrical engineering.


===Solid-state electronics ===
For most engineers technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. A lot of time is also spent on tasks such as discussing proposals with clients, preparing ]s and determining ]. {{ref|trevelyan}} Many senior engineers manage a team of ]s or other engineers and for this reason ] skills are important. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and ] skills are therefore very important.
{{See also|History of electronic engineering|History of the transistor|Invention of the integrated circuit|MOSFET|Solid-state electronics}}
], a ]]]
] (MOSFET), the basic building block of modern ]]]


The first working ] was a ] invented by ] and ] while working under ] at the ] (BTL) in 1947.<ref>{{cite web |title=1947: Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/invention-of-the-point-contact-transistor/ |website=] |access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> They then invented the ] in 1948.<ref>{{cite web |title=1948: Conception of the Junction Transistor |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/conception-of-the-junction-transistor/ |website=The Silicon Engine |publisher=] |access-date=8 October 2019}}</ref> While early ]s were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a ] basis,<ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=] |isbn=9780470508923 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168}}</ref> they opened the door for more compact devices.<ref>{{cite web | title = Electronics Timeline | work = Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century | url = http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3956 | access-date =18 January 2006 }}</ref>
The ]s of electrical engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. Electrical engineers may be found in the pristine lab environment of a ], the offices of a ] or on site at a ]. During their working life, electrical engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including ]s, ]s, ] and other engineers.


The first ]s were the ] invented by ] at ] in 1958 and the monolithic integrated circuit chip invented by ] at ] in 1959.<ref name="Saxena140">{{cite book |last1=Saxena |first1=Arjun N. |title=Invention of Integrated Circuits: Untold Important Facts |date=2009 |publisher=] |isbn=9789812814456 |page=140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3lpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140}}</ref>
Obsolescence of technical skills is a serious concern for electrical engineers. Membership and participation in technical societies, regular reviews of periodicals in the field and a habit of continued learning are therefore essential to maintaining proficiency. {{ref|DoL2}}


The ] (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOS transistor) was invented by ] and ] at BTL in 1959.<ref name="computerhistory">{{cite journal|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/metal-oxide-semiconductor-mos-transistor-demonstrated/|title=1960 – Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Transistor Demonstrated|journal=The Silicon Engine|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="computerhistory-transistor">{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Transistor? |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-invented-the-transistor/ |website=] |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="triumph">{{cite web |title=Triumph of the MOS Transistor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fBEjf9WPw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/q6fBEjf9WPw| archive-date=2021-10-28|website=YouTube |publisher=] |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=6 August 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was the first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses.<ref name="Moskowitz"/> It revolutionized the ],<ref name="Chan">{{cite book |last1=Chan |first1=Yi-Jen |title=Studies of InAIAs/InGaAs and GaInP/GaAs heterostructure FET's for high speed applications |date=1992 |publisher=] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sV4eAQAAMAAJ |page=1 |quote=The Si MOSFET has revolutionized the electronics industry and as a result impacts our daily lives in almost every conceivable way.}}</ref><ref name="Grant">{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Duncan Andrew |last2=Gowar |first2=John |title=Power MOSFETS: theory and applications |date=1989 |publisher=] |isbn=9780471828679 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZiZTAAAAMAAJ |quote=The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is the most commonly used active device in the very large-scale integration of digital integrated circuits (VLSI). During the 1970s these components revolutionized electronic signal processing, control systems and computers.}}</ref> becoming the most widely used electronic device in the world.<ref name="computerhistory-transistor"/><ref name="Golio">{{cite book |last1=Golio |first1=Mike |last2=Golio |first2=Janet |title=RF and Microwave Passive and Active Technologies |date=2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9781420006728 |pages=18–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCj9jxSVQKIC&pg=SA18-PA2}}</ref><ref name="computerhistory2018">{{cite web |title=13 Sextillion & Counting: The Long & Winding Road to the Most Frequently Manufactured Human Artifact in History |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/13-sextillion-counting-the-long-winding-road-to-the-most-frequently-manufactured-human-artifact-in-history/ |date=2 April 2018 |website=] |access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref>
== Demographics ==
]


The MOSFET made it possible to build ] chips.<ref name="computerhistory-transistor"/> The earliest experimental MOS IC chip to be fabricated was built by Fred Heiman and Steven Hofstein at ] in 1962.<ref name="computerhistory-digital">{{cite web |title=Tortoise of Transistors Wins the Race – CHM Revolution |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/279 |website=] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> MOS technology enabled ], the ]s on an IC chip every two years, predicted by ] in 1965.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Franco |first1=Jacopo |last2=Kaczer |first2=Ben |last3=Groeseneken |first3=Guido |title=Reliability of High Mobility SiGe Channel MOSFETs for Future CMOS Applications |date=2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9789400776630 |pages=1–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnrGBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1}}</ref> ] MOS technology was developed by ] at Fairchild in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=1968: Silicon Gate Technology Developed for ICs |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/silicon-gate-technology-developed-for-ics/ |website=] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> Since then, the MOSFET has been the basic building block of modern electronics.<ref name="triumph"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=McCluskey |first1=Matthew D. |last2=Haller |first2=Eugene E. |title=Dopants and Defects in Semiconductors |date=2012 |publisher=] |isbn=9781439831533 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV3RBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web|last1=Daniels|first1=Lee A.|date=28 May 1992|title=Dr. Dawon Kahng, 61, Inventor in Field of Solid-State Electronics|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/28/nyregion/dr-dawon-kahng-61-inventor-in-field-of-solid-state-electronics.html|access-date=1 April 2017|website=The New York Times}}</ref> The mass-production of silicon MOSFETs and MOS integrated circuit chips, along with continuous ] miniaturization at an exponential pace (as predicted by ]), has since led to revolutionary changes in technology, economy, culture and thinking.<ref name="Feldman">{{cite book |last1=Feldman |first1=Leonard C. |author1-link=Leonard Feldman |chapter=Introduction |title=Fundamental Aspects of Silicon Oxidation |date=2001 |publisher=] |isbn=9783540416821 |pages=1–11 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sV4y2-mWGNIC&pg=PA1}}</ref>
There are around 366,000 people working as electrical engineers in the ] constituting 0.25% of the labour force (]). This makes electrical engineering the largest engineering discipline in the United States with the exception of software engineering. {{ref|DoL3}} In ], there are around 24,000 constituting 0.23% of the labour force (]) and in ], there are around 34,600 constituting 0.21% of the labour force (]). {{ref|AJS}} {{ref|JobFutures.ca}} All of these countries expect employment in the field to grow, but not rapidly, in the near future.


The ] which culminated in ] with ] in 1969 was enabled by ]'s adoption of advances in ] ], including MOSFETs in the ] (IMP)<ref>{{cite book |title=Interplanetary Monitoring Platform |date=29 August 1989 |publisher=] |pages=1, 11, 134 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800012928.pdf |access-date=12 August 2019|last1=Butler |first1=P. M. }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=H. D. |last2=Lokerson |first2=D. C. |title=The Evolution of IMP Spacecraft Mosfet Data Systems |journal=] |date=1971 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=233–236 |doi=10.1109/TNS.1971.4325871 |bibcode=1971ITNS...18..233W |issn=0018-9499}}</ref> and silicon integrated circuit chips in the ] (AGC).<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo Guidance Computer and the First Silicon Chips |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/apollo-guidance-computer-and-first-silicon-chips |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=1 September 2019 |date=14 October 2015}}</ref>
Outside of these countries, it is difficult to gauge the demographics of the profession due to less meticulous reporting on labour statistics. One way to estimate the relative size of the profession in each country is to compare graduation statistics. In 2002, the ] published statistics on the number of degrees granted in engineering by various countries. A summary of these statistics is shown on the right though the foundation notes that the numbers "may not be strictly comparable". {{ref|NSF-foreign}}


The development of MOS integrated circuit technology in the 1960s led to the invention of the ] in the early 1970s.<ref name="computerhistory1971">{{cite web |title=1971: Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/microprocessor-integrates-cpu-function-onto-a-single-chip/ |website=] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Colinge2016">{{cite book|last1=Colinge|first1=Jean-Pierre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvjUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|title=Nanowire Transistors: Physics of Devices and Materials in One Dimension|last2=Greer|first2=James C.|date=2016|publisher=]|isbn=9781107052406|page=2}}</ref> The first single-chip microprocessor was the ], released in 1971.<ref name="computerhistory1971"/> The Intel 4004 was designed and realized by Federico Faggin at Intel with his silicon-gate MOS technology,<ref name="computerhistory1971"/> along with Intel's ] and ] and Busicom's Masatoshi Shima.<ref name="ieee">{{cite journal|doi=10.1109/MSSC.2008.930938|title = The Making of the First Microprocessor|year = 2009|last1 = Faggin|first1 = Federico|journal = IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine|volume = 1|pages = 8–21|s2cid = 46218043|doi-access = }}</ref> The microprocessor led to the development of ]s and personal computers, and the ].
In the United States and, to a lesser extent, throughout the ] there is a perception that a large number of technical jobs including those concerned with electrical engineering are being ] to countries such as ] and ]. To illustrate this claim statistics are often misrepresented (see <span id="outsourcing_back">]</span>). Overall probably one of the best summaries of the effect of outsourcing on the United States is given by the ] which notes that "increasing use of engineering services performed in other countries will act to limit employment growth" but that overall the profession "is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through 2012". {{ref|DoL5}}


==Subfields==
Other statements on the profession are less controversial. In the United States, the number of electrical engineers graduating has fallen from a peak in the mid-1980's. {{ref|NSF-elec}} In ], engineering degrees formed less than 20% of the degrees granted in the United States and Australia, compared to just over 25% for the ] and ] and over 30% for ] and ]. {{ref|DEST}} Also widely accepted is that the profession is male dominated. This is illustrated by the statistical sources in the first paragraph that show 96% of electrical engineers in Australia and 89% of electrical engineers in Canada are male.
One of the properties of electricity is that it is very useful for energy transmission as well as for information transmission. These were also the first areas in which electrical engineering was developed. Today, electrical engineering has many subdisciplines, the most common of which are listed below. Although there are electrical engineers who focus exclusively on one of these subdisciplines, many deal with a combination of them. Sometimes, certain fields, such as ] and ], are considered disciplines in their own right.


== Subfields == ===Power and energy===
{{Main|Power engineering|Energy engineering}}
Electrical engineering has many subfields. This section describes seven of the most popular subfields in electrical engineering. Although there are engineers who focus exclusively on one subfield, there are also many who focus on a combination of subfields. For more information on each of the following, read the ] article.
]]]
<br>
<center>
{| style="border: 1px solid #a0a0a0; padding: 10px; background-color: #f0f0f0; width: 96%; text-align:left;"
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Power engineering''' deals with the ], ] and ] of ] as well as the design of a range of related devices. These include ]s, ]s, ]s and sometimes ].


In many regions of the world, governments maintain an electrical network that connects a variety of generators together with users of their energy. This network is called a ]. Users purchase electrical energy from the grid avoiding the costly exercise of having to generate their own. 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. These systems are called ''off-grid'' power systems and may be used in preference to on-grid systems for a variety of reasons. '']'' Power & Energy engineering deals with the ], ], and ] of electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices.{{Sfn|Grigsby|2012}} These include ]s, ]s, ]s, high voltage engineering, and ]. In many regions of the world, governments maintain an electrical network called a ] that connects a variety of generators together with users of their energy. Users purchase electrical energy from the grid, avoiding the costly exercise of having to generate their own. Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it.<ref name="UNESCO"/> 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.
<br><br>
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Control engineering''' focuses on the ] of a diverse range of ] and the design of ] that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner. To implement such controllers electrical engineers may use ], ] and ].


===Telecommunications===
] has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of ] to the ] present in many modern ]. It also plays an important role in ].
{{Main|Telecommunications engineering}}
]es are a crucial component in the analysis of satellite information.]]
Telecommunications engineering focuses on the ] of information across a ] such as a ], ] or ].{{sfn|Tobin|2007|p=15}} Transmissions across free space require information to be encoded in a ] to shift the information to a carrier frequency suitable for transmission; this is known as ]. Popular analog modulation techniques include ] and ].{{Sfn|Chandrasekhar|2006|p=21}} 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 ]s and ]s needed for such systems. These two are sometimes combined to form a two-way communication device known as a ]. A key consideration in the design of transmitters is their ] as this is closely related to their ].{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=19}}{{sfn|Zhang|Hu|Luo|2007|p=448}} Typically, if the power of the transmitted signal is insufficient once the signal arrives at the receiver's antenna(s), the information contained in the signal will be corrupted by ], specifically static.
Control engineers often utilize ] when designing ]. For example, in an ] with ] the vehicle's ] is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the ] ] accordingly. Where there is regular feedback, ] can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback. '']''
<br><br>
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Electronics engineering''' involves the design and testing of ] that use the properties of ] such as ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s and ]s to achieve a particular functionality. The ], which allows the user of a ] to ] out all but a single station, is just one example of such a circuit.


===Control engineering===
Before the invention of the ] in ], electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by humans. These non-integrated circuits consumed much space and ], were limited in speed although they are still common in some applications. By contrast, ]s packed a large number - often millions - of tiny electrical components, mainly ]s, into a small chip around the size of a ]. This allowed for the powerful ]s and other electronic devices we see today. '']''
{{Main||Control engineering|Control theory}}
<br><br>
]s play a critical role in ].]]
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Signal processing''' deals with the analysis and manipulation of ]. Signals can be either ], in which case the signal varies continuously according to the information, or ], in which case the signal varies according to a series of discrete values representing the information.


] focuses on the ] of a diverse range of ]s and the design of ]s that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner.{{sfn|Bissell|1996|p=17}} To implement such controllers, electronics control engineers may use ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s (PLCs). ] has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of ]s to the ] present in many modern ]s.{{sfn|McDavid|Echaore-McDavid|2009|p=95}} It also plays an important role in ].
For analog signals, signal processing may involve the ] and ] of audio signals for audio equipment or the ] and ] of signals for ]s. For digital signals, signal processing may involve the ], ] and ] of digital signals. '']''
<br><br>
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Telecommunications engineering''' focuses on the ] of ] across a ] such as a ], ] or ].


Control engineers often use ] when designing ]s. For example, in an ] with ] the vehicle's ] is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the ] ] output accordingly.{{sfn | Åström | Murray | 2021 | p=108}} Where there is regular feedback, ] can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback.
Transmissions across free space require information to be encoded in a ] in order to shift the information to a ] suitable for transmission, this is known as ]. Popular analog modulation techniques include ] and ]. The choice of modulation affects the cost and performance of a system and these two factors must be balanced carefully by the engineer.


Control engineers also work in ] to design autonomous systems using control algorithms which interpret sensory feedback to control actuators that move robots such as ]s, autonomous drones and others used in a variety of industries.{{sfn|Fairman|1998|p=119}}
Once the transmission characteristics of a system are determined, telecommunication engineers design the ] and ] needed for such systems. These two are sometimes combined to form a two-way communication device known as a ]. A key consideration in the design of transmitters is their ] as this is closely related to their ]. If the signal strength of a transmitter is insufficient the signal's information will be corrupted by ]. '']''
<br><br>
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Instrumentation engineering''' deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as ], ] and ]. These devices are known as ].


===Electronics===
The design of such instrumentation requires a good understanding of ] that often extends beyond ]. For example, ]s use the ] to measure the speed of oncoming vehicles. Similarly, ]s use the ] to measure the temperature difference between two points.
{{Main|Electronic engineering}}


]s]]
Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the ]s of larger electrical systems. For example, a thermocouple might be used to help ensure a furnace's temperature remains constant. For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control engineering. '']''
Electronic engineering involves the design and testing of ]s that use the properties of ]s such as ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s to achieve a particular functionality.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite book|title=Engineering: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09i67GgGPCYC&pg=PA128|year=2010|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-92-3-104156-3|pages=127–8}}</ref> The ], which allows the user of a radio to ] out all but a single station, is just one example of such a circuit. Another example to research is a pneumatic signal conditioner.
<br><br>
|-
| width=160 px style="vertical-align:top;" | ]
| style="vertical-align:top;" | '''Computer engineering''' deals with the design of ]s and ]s. This may involve the design of new ], the design of ] or the use of computers to control an ]. Computer engineers may also work on a system's ]. However, the design of complex software systems is often the domain of ], which is usually considered a separate discipline.


Prior to the Second World War, the subject was commonly known as ''radio engineering'' and basically was restricted to aspects of communications and ], ], and ].<ref name="UNESCO"/> Later, in post-war years, as consumer devices began to be developed, the field grew to include modern television, audio systems, computers, and ]s. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the term ''radio engineering'' gradually gave way to the name ''electronic engineering''.
]s 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 ]s and ]s. '']''
<br><br>
|-
|}
</center>


Before the invention of the ] in 1959,{{Sfn|Thompson|2006|p=4}} electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by humans. These discrete circuits consumed much space and ] and were limited in speed, although they are still common in some applications. By contrast, ]s packed a large number—often millions—of tiny electrical components, mainly ]s,{{Sfn|Merhari|2009|p=233}} into a small chip around the size of a ]. This allowed for the powerful computers and other electronic devices we see today.
== Related disciplines ==
One discipline related to electrical engineering is that of ]. Mechatronics is an ] discipline, which deals with the convergence of ] and ] systems. Such combined systems are known as ] systems and have widespread adoption. Examples include ], ] and various subsystems of ]s and ]s.


===Microelectronics and nanoelectronics===
The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to ] systems but ] have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already such small devices, known as ] (MEMS), are used in automobiles to tell ]s when to deploy, in ]s to create sharper images and in ]s to create ]s for high-definition printing. In the future it is hoped the devices will help build tiny implantable medical devices and improve ]. {{ref|mems}}
{{Main|Microelectronics|Nanoelectronics|Chip design}}
]]]
] engineering deals with the design and ] of very small electronic circuit components for use in an ] or sometimes for use on their own as a general electronic component.{{Sfn|Bhushan|1997|p=581}} The most common microelectronic components are ] ]s, although all main electronic components (]s, ]s etc.) can be created at a microscopic level.


] is the further scaling of devices down to ] levels. Modern devices are already in the nanometer regime, with below 100&nbsp;nm processing having been standard since around 2002.{{Sfn|Mook|2008|p=149}}
Another related discipline is that of ], which is concerned with the design of ]. This includes fixed equipment such as ]s, ] and ] as well as mobile equipment such as ]s, ]s and ]s.


Microelectronic components are created by chemically fabricating wafers of semiconductors such as silicon (at higher frequencies, ]s like 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 ].{{sfn|Sullivan|2012}}
== References ==
<div style="font-size: 85%">


===Signal processing===
'''Notes'''
{{Main|Signal processing}}
:<cite id="outsourcing">]</cite> - In October 2002, Cadence Design Systems CEO Ray Bingham announced that "China produces 600,000 engineers a year, and 200,000 are electrical engineers." The United States branch of the IEEE disputed this pointing out that it was triple the figure reported for 1999 by the ]. {{ref|IEEE-US-PR}} Other sources draw comparisons using the number of engineering graduates reported by the All India Council for Technical Education (350,000) {{ref|Forbes}} with that reported by the National Science Foundation (60,000) {{ref|NSF-all}}. But this comparison is dubious because the National Science Foundation excludes software engineers from its statstics. A more reasonable comparison is probably given by U.S. News who suggest the Indian figure is around 82,000. {{ref|USNews.com}}
] on a ] requires signal processing to get a red, green, and blue value at each pixel.]]
] deals with the analysis and manipulation of ]s.{{Sfn|Tuzlukov|2010|p=20}} Signals can be either ], in which case the signal varies continuously according to the information, or ], in which case the signal varies according to a series of discrete values representing the information. For analog signals, signal processing may involve the ] and ] of audio signals for audio equipment or the ] and ] of signals for telecommunications. For digital signals, signal processing may involve the ], ] and ] of digitally sampled signals.{{Sfn|Manolakis|Ingle|2011|p=17}}


Signal processing is a very mathematically oriented and intensive area forming the core of ] and it is rapidly expanding with new applications in every field of electrical engineering such as communications, control, radar, ]ing, ], power electronics, and ] as many already existing analog systems are replaced with their digital counterparts. ] is still important in the design of many ]s.
'''Citations'''
# {{note|ryder}} {{Book reference | Author=Ryder, John and Fink, Donald; | Title=Engineers and Electrons | Publisher=IEEE Press | Year=1984 | ID=ISBN 087942172X}}
# {{note|nspe}} {{Web reference | title=Why Should You Get Licensed? | work=National Society of Professional Engineers | URL=http://www.nspe.org/lc1-why.asp | date=July 11 | year=2005}}
# {{note|qea}} {{Web reference | title=Engineers Act | work=Quebec Statutes and Regulations (CanLII) | URL=http://www.canlii.org/qc/laws/sta/i-9/20050616/whole.html | date=July 24 | year=2005}}
# {{note|shuman}} {{Citenewsauthor | surname=Shuman | given=Ellis | title=Joy turns to tragedy in collapse of Versailles wedding hall | date=May 27, 2001 | org=Israel Insider | url=http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/politics/articles/pol_0022.htm}}
# {{note|ethics}} {{Web reference | title=Codes of Ethics and Conduct | work=Online Ethics Center | URL=http://onlineethics.org/codes/ | date=July 24 | year=2005}}
# {{note|IEEE}} {{Web reference | title=About the IEEE | work=IEEE | URL=http://www.ieee.org/about/ | date=July 11 | year=2005}}
# {{note|IEE1}} {{Web reference | title=About the IEE | work=The IEE | URL=http://www.iee.org/TheIEE/about.cfm | date=July 11 | year=2005}}
# {{note|IEE2}} {{Web reference | title=Journal and Magazines | work=The IEE | URL=http://www.iee.org/Publish/Journals/ | date=July 11 | year=2005}}
# {{note|DoL1}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer | work=Occupational Outlook Handbook | URL=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm | date=July 16 | year=2005}} (see ] regarding copyright)
# {{note|trevelyan}} Trevelyan, James; (2005). ''What Do Engineers Really Do?''. University of Western Australia. (seminar with )
# {{note|DoL2}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer | work=Occupational Outlook Handbook | URL=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm | date=July 16 | year=2005}}
# {{note|DoL3}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer | work=Occupational Outlook Handbook | URL=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm | date=August 27 | year=2005}} and {{Web reference | title=Computer Hardware Engineers | work=Occupational Outlook Handbook | URL=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos266.htm | date=August 27 | year=2005}}
# {{note|AJS}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers | work=Australian Careers | URL=http://jobsearch.gov.au/joboutlook/default.aspx?PageId=AscoDesc&AscoCode=2125 | date=August 27 | year=2005}}
# {{note|JobFutures.ca}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NOC 2133) | work=Job Futures (National Edition) |URL=http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/2133p1.shtml | date=August 27 | year=2005}}
# {{note|NSF-foreign}} National Science Foundation (2002), '''', Appendix 2-18.
# {{note|DoL5}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer | work=Occupational Outlook Handbook | URL=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm | date=July 16 | year=2005}}
# {{note|NSF-elec}} {{Web reference | title=Electrical engineering degrees awarded, by degree level and sex of recipient: 1966–2001 | work=Science and Engineering Degrees: 1966-2001 | URL=http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf04311/pdf/tab30.pdf | date=August 27 | year=2005}}
# {{note|DEST}} Department of Education, Science and Training (2004), '''', slide 10.
# {{note|mems}} {{Web reference | title=MEMS the world! | work=IntelliSense Software Corporation | URL=http://www.intellisensesoftware.com/Technology.html | date=July 17 | year=2005}}
# {{note|IEEE-US-PR}} IEEE-USA, '''', January 30, 2003.
# {{note|Forbes}} {{Citepaper_version | Author=Forbes, Nushad | Title=Higher Education, Scientific Research and Industrial Competitiveness: Reflections on Priorities for India | PublishYear=2003 | Version=First Draft | URL=http://scid.stanford.edu/events/India2003/Higher_Schooling.pdf }}
# {{note|NSF-all}} {{Web reference | title=Engineering degrees awarded, by degree level and sex of recipient: 1966–2001 | work=Science and Engineering Degrees: 1966-2001 | URL=http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf04311/pdf/tab26.pdf | date=August 27 | year=2005}}
# {{note|USNews.com}} {{Citenewsauthor | surname= Atlas | given=Terry | title=Bangalore's Big Dreams | date=February 5, 2005 | org=U.S. News | url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/050502/2india.htm}}
</div>


DSP processor ICs are found in many types of modern electronic devices, such as digital ]s,{{sfn|Bayoumi|Swartzlander|1994|p=25}} radios, ] audio equipment, mobile phones, ]s, camcorders and digital cameras, automobile control systems, ] headphones, digital ]s, missile guidance systems, ] systems, and ] systems. In such products, DSP may be responsible for ], ] or ], ] digital media, wirelessly ] data, triangulating positions using ], and other kinds of ], ], ], and ].{{Sfn|Khanna|2009|p=297}}
== See also ==

*] (alphabetical)
===Instrumentation===
*] (thematic)
{{Main|Instrumentation engineering}}
*]
]s provide pilots with the tools to control aircraft analytically.]]
*]
] deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as ], ], and temperature.{{Sfn|Grant|Bixley|2011|p=159}} The design of such instruments requires a good understanding of ] that often extends beyond ]. For example, ]s measure variables such as ] and altitude to enable pilots the control of aircraft analytically. Similarly, ]s use the ] to measure the temperature difference between two points.{{sfn|Fredlund|Rahardjo|Fredlund|2012|p=346}}

Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the ]s of larger electrical systems. For example, a thermocouple might be used to help ensure a furnace's temperature remains constant.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manual on the Use of Thermocouples in Temperature Measurement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pos-MXDWb6MC&pg=PA154|date=1 January 1993|publisher=ASTM International|isbn=978-0-8031-1466-1|page=154}}</ref> For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control.

===Computers===
{{Main|Computer engineering}}
]s are used in fields as diverse as ] and ]s.]]
Computer engineering deals with the design of computers and ]s. This may involve the design of new ]. 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.{{sfn|Jalote|2006|p=22}} ]s represent a tiny fraction of the devices a computer engineer might work on, as computer-like architectures are now found in a range of ]s including ]s and ]s. Computer engineers are involved in many hardware and software aspects of computing.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=0471605018|title=Fundamentals of Computer Engineering: Logic Design and Microprocessors|last1=Lam|first1=Herman|last2=O'Malley|first2=John R.|date=26 April 1988|publisher=Wiley }}</ref> ]s are one of the applications of computer engineering.

===Photonics and optics===
{{Main|Photonics|Optics|Fiber-optic communication}}
] in the ] (1530–1565&nbsp;nm).]]

] and ] deals with the generation, transmission, amplification, modulation, detection, and analysis of ]. The application of optics deals with design of optical instruments such as ]es, ]s, ]s, and other equipment that uses the properties of electromagnetic radiation. Other prominent applications of optics include ]s and measurement systems, ]s, ] systems, and optical disc systems (e.g. CD and DVD). Photonics builds heavily on optical technology, supplemented with modern developments such as ] (mostly involving ]s), laser systems, ]s and novel materials (e.g. ]s).

==Related disciplines==
]
] is an engineering discipline that deals with the convergence of electrical and ] systems. Such combined systems are known as ] systems and have widespread adoption. Examples include ]s,{{sfn|Mahalik|2003|p=569}} ]s,{{sfn|Leondes|2000|p=199}} and various subsystems of aircraft and ]s.{{sfn|Shetty|Kolk|2010|p=36}}
''Electronic systems design'' is the subject within electrical engineering that deals with the multi-disciplinary design issues of complex electrical and mechanical systems.<ref name="lienig">{{Cite book|author=J. Lienig|author2=H. Bruemmer|title=Fundamentals of Electronic Systems Design|pages=1|publisher=Springer International Publishing|date=2017|isbn=978-3-319-55839-4|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55840-0}}</ref>

The term ''mechatronics'' is typically used to refer to ] systems but ]s have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already, such small devices, known as ]s (MEMS), are used in automobiles to tell ]s when to deploy,{{sfn|Maluf|Williams|2004|p=3}} in ]s to create sharper images, and in ]s to create nozzles for high definition printing. In the future it is hoped the devices will help build tiny implantable medical devices and improve ].{{Sfn|Iga|Kokubun|2010|p=137}}

In ] and ], an example is the most recent ] and ion propulsion.

==Education==
{{Main|Education and training of electrical and electronics engineers}}
]]]
Electrical engineers typically possess an ] with a major in electrical engineering, ], ],<ref name=BLS3>{{cite web|title=Electrical and Electronic Engineer|url=http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm#tab-4|work=], 2012–13 Edition|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor|access-date=15 November 2014}}</ref> or electrical and electronic engineering.{{Sfn|Chaturvedi|1997|p=253}}<ref>{{cite web | title = What is the difference between electrical and electronic engineering? | work = FAQs – Studying Electrical Engineering | url = http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/mainsite/menuitem.818c0c39e85ef176fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=corp_level1&path=education/faqs&file=faqs1.xml&xsl=generic.xsl | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051110172817/http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/mainsite/menuitem.818c0c39e85ef176fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=corp_level1&path=education/faqs&file=faqs1.xml&xsl=generic.xsl | url-status = dead | archive-date = 10 November 2005 | access-date =20 March 2012 }}</ref> The same fundamental principles are taught in all programs, though emphasis may vary according to title. 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 Science in Electrical/Electronics Engineering Technology, ], Bachelor of Science, ], or ], depending on the university. The ] generally includes units covering ], mathematics, ], ], and a ].<ref name="Enterprise1986">{{cite book|title=Computerworld|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVHbRM6mU9gC&pg=PA97|date=25 August 1986|publisher=IDG Enterprise|page=97}}</ref> Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the subdisciplines of electrical engineering. At some schools, the students can then choose to emphasize one or more subdisciplines towards the end of their courses of study.

], which is useful in ] and ] ]]

At many schools, electronic engineering is included as part of an electrical award, sometimes explicitly, such as a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic), but in others, electrical and electronic engineering are both considered to be sufficiently broad and complex that separate degrees are offered.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electrical and Electronic Engineering|url=http://www.flinders.edu.au/science_engineering/csem/disciplines/eee/|access-date=8 December 2011|archive-date=28 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128205305/http://flinders.edu.au/science_engineering/csem/disciplines/eee/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some electrical engineers choose to study for a postgraduate degree such as a ]/Master of Science (MEng/MSc), a Master of ], a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Engineering, an ] (Eng.D.), or an ]. The master's and engineer's degrees may consist of either research, ] or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy and Engineering Doctorate degrees consist of a significant research component and are often viewed as the entry point to ]. In the United Kingdom and some other European countries, Master of Engineering is often considered to be an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the Bachelor of Engineering rather than a standalone postgraduate degree.<ref>Various including graduate degree requirements {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116055044/http://www.eecs.mit.edu/grad/degrees.html |date=16 January 2006 }}, study guide , the curriculum {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804025330/http://www.queensu.ca/calendars/appsci/pg219.html |date=4 August 2012 }} and unit tables {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822115131/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/calendar/requirements/07H50116.doc |date=22 August 2006 }}</ref>

==Professional practice==
] of the ] in New York City]]
In most countries, a bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards ] and the degree program itself is certified by a ].<ref name="Labor2008">{{cite book|title=Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008–2009|url=https://archive.org/details/occupationaloutl00usde_2|url-access=registration|date=1 March 2008|publisher=U S Department of Labor, Jist Works|isbn=978-1-59357-513-7|page=}}</ref> 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 ] (in the United States, Canada and South Africa), ] or ] (in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Ireland and ]), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or ] (in much of the ]).

] corporate office is on the 17th floor of ] in New York City.]]
The advantages of licensure vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may seal engineering work for public and private clients".<ref>{{cite web | title = Why Should You Get Licensed? | work = National Society of Professional Engineers | url = http://www.nspe.org/lc1-why.asp | access-date =11 July 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050604085233/http://www.nspe.org/lc1-why.asp| archive-date = 4 June 2005}}</ref> This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as ]'s Engineers Act.<ref>{{cite web | title = Engineers Act | work = Quebec Statutes and Regulations (CanLII) | url = http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=//I_9/I9_A.htm | access-date =24 July 2005 }}</ref> In other countries, no such legislation exists. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a ]s that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion.<ref>{{cite web | title = Codes of Ethics and Conduct | work = Online Ethics Center | url = http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/ethcodes.aspx | access-date = 24 July 2005 | archive-date = 2 February 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160202155943/http://www.onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/ethcodes.aspx | url-status = dead }}</ref> In this way these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to ]. In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the ] and, in extreme cases, the charge of ]. An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations, such as ]s and legislation pertaining to ].

Professional bodies of note for electrical engineers include the ] (IEEE) and the ] (IET). The IEEE claims to produce 30% of the world's literature in electrical engineering, has over 360,000 members worldwide and holds over 3,000 conferences annually.<ref>{{cite web | title = About the IEEE | work = IEEE | url = https://www.ieee.org/about/index.html | access-date =11 July 2005 }}</ref> The IET publishes 21 journals, has a worldwide membership of over 150,000, and claims to be the largest professional engineering society in Europe.<ref>{{cite web | title = About the IET | work = The IET | url = http://www.theiet.org/about/ | access-date =11 July 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Journal and Magazines | work = The IET | url = http://www.theiet.org/publishing/journals/ | access-date = 11 July 2005 | archive-date = 24 August 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824124603/http://www.theiet.org/publishing/journals/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> Obsolescence of technical skills is a serious concern for electrical engineers. Membership and participation in technical societies, regular reviews of periodicals in the field and a habit of continued learning are therefore essential to maintaining proficiency. An MIET(Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology) is recognised in Europe as an Electrical and computer (technology) engineer.<ref>{{cite web | title = Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer | work = Occupational Outlook Handbook | url = http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm | access-date =16 July 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050713014728/http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm|archive-date=13 July 2005}} (see ] regarding copyright)</ref>

In Australia, Canada, and the United States, electrical engineers make up around 0.25% of the labor force.{{efn|In May 2014 there were around 175,000 people working as electrical engineers in the US.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Electrical Engineers|url = http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172071.htm|website = www.bls.gov|access-date = 30 November 2015}}</ref> In 2012, Australia had around 19,000<ref>{{Cite web|title = Electrical Engineer Career Information for Migrants {{!}} Victoria, Australia|url = http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/working-and-employment/occupations/electrical-engineer|website = www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au|access-date = 30 November 2015|archive-date = 8 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208141251/http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/working-and-employment/occupations/electrical-engineer|url-status = dead}}</ref> while in Canada, there were around 37,000 ({{As of|2007|lc=on}}), constituting about 0.2% of the labour force in each of the three countries. Australia and Canada reported that 96% and 88% of their electrical engineers respectively are male.<ref>{{cite web | title=Electrical Engineers | publisher=] | url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm | access-date=13 March 2009 | archive-date=19 February 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219092732/http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm | url-status=dead }} See also: {{cite web | title=Work Experience of the Population in 2006 | publisher=] | url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/History/work_12192007.txt | access-date=20 June 2008 }} and {{cite web | title = Electrical and Electronics Engineers | work = Australian Careers | url = http://joboutlook.gov.au/Pages/occupation.aspx?search=alpha&tab=prospects&cluster=&code=2333 | access-date = 13 March 2009 | archive-date = 23 October 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091023023049/http://joboutlook.gov.au/pages/occupation.aspx?search=alpha&tab=prospects&cluster=&code=2333 | url-status = dead }} and {{cite web| title = Electrical and Electronics Engineers| publisher = Canadian jobs service| url = http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/2133p1.shtml| access-date = 13 March 2009| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090306165318/http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/2133p1.shtml| archive-date = 6 March 2009}}</ref>}}

==Tools and work==

From the ] to ], electrical engineers have contributed to the development of 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 telecommunications systems, the operation of ]s, the ] and ] of buildings, the design of ]s, or the electrical ] of industrial machinery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electrical and Electronics Engineers, except Computer |work=Occupational Outlook Handbook |url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm |access-date=16 July 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050713014728/http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm |archive-date=13 July 2005 |url-status=dead }} (see )</ref>

]s is typical of what electrical engineers work on.]]
Fundamental to the discipline are the sciences of ] and mathematics as these help to obtain both a ] and ] description of how such systems will work. Today most engineering work involves the use of ]s and it is commonplace to use ] programs when designing electrical systems. Nevertheless, the ability to sketch ideas is still invaluable for quickly communicating with others.

] system]]
Although most electrical engineers will understand basic ] (that is, the interactions of elements such as ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s in a circuit), the theories employed by engineers generally depend upon the work they do. For example, ] and ] might be relevant to an engineer working on ] (the design of integrated circuits), but are largely irrelevant to engineers working with macroscopic electrical systems. Even ] may not be relevant to a person designing telecommunications systems that use ] components. Perhaps the most important technical skills for electrical engineers are reflected in university programs, which emphasize ]s, ], and the ability to understand the ]s that relate to electrical engineering.{{Sfn|Taylor|2008|p=241}}

] bouncing down an ] rod, illustrating the total internal reflection of light in a ]]]

A wide range of instrumentation is used by electrical engineers. For simple control circuits and alarms, a basic ] measuring ], ], and ] may suffice. Where time-varying signals need to be studied, the ] is also an ubiquitous instrument. In ] and high-frequency telecommunications, ]s and ]s are used. In some disciplines, safety can be a particular concern with instrumentation. For instance, medical electronics designers must take into account that much lower voltages than normal can be dangerous when electrodes are directly in contact with internal body fluids.{{sfn|Leitgeb|2010|p=122}} Power transmission engineering also has great safety concerns due to the high voltages used; although ]s may in principle be similar to their low voltage equivalents, safety and calibration issues make them very different.<ref>{{harvnb|Naidu|Kamaraju|2009|p=210}}</ref> Many disciplines of electrical engineering use tests specific to their discipline. Audio electronics engineers use ]s consisting of a signal generator and a meter, principally to measure level but also other parameters such as ] and ]. Likewise, information technology have their own test sets, often specific to a particular data format, and the same is true of television broadcasting.

] at the Misawa Air Base Misawa Security Operations Center, Misawa, Japan]]
For many engineers, technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. A lot of time may also be spent on tasks such as discussing proposals with clients, preparing ]s and determining ]s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trevelyan|first=James|year=2005|title=What Do Engineers Really Do?|publisher=University of Western Australia|url=http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/jpt/Engineering%20Roles%20050503.pdf}}</ref> Many senior engineers manage a team of ]s or other engineers and for this reason ] skills are important. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and ] skills are therefore very important.

The ]s of engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. Electrical engineers may be found in the pristine lab environment of a ], on board a ], the offices of a ] or on site at a mine. During their working life, electrical engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including scientists, ]s, ]s, and other engineers.{{Sfn|McDavid|Echaore-McDavid|2009|p=87}}

Electrical engineering has an intimate relationship with the physical sciences. For instance, the physicist ] played a major role in the engineering of the first ].<ref>Huurdeman, pp.&nbsp;95–96</ref> Conversely, the engineer ] produced major work on the mathematics of transmission on telegraph cables.<ref>Huurdeman, p. 90</ref> Electrical engineers are often required on major science projects. For instance, large ]s such as ] need electrical engineers to deal with many aspects of the project including the power distribution, the instrumentation, and the manufacture and installation of the ]s.<ref>Schmidt, p. 218</ref><ref>Martini, p. 179</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Electronics|Engineering}}
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
*]
*]
*]
*] *]
*] *]
*]
*]
*]
*] (IEC)
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
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*{{cite book|last=Tobin|first=Paul|title=PSpice for Digital Communications Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QV_l-oMHXDMC&pg=PA15|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Morgan & Claypool Publishers|isbn=978-1-59829-162-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Tunbridge|first=Paul|title=Lord Kelvin, His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZUK624LZBMC|year=1992|publisher=IET|isbn=978-0-86341-237-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Tuzlukov|first=Vyacheslav|title=Signal Processing Noise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6hoBG_MAYIC&pg=PP20|date=12 December 2010|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-4111-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Denise|title=Metals and Non-metals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW2GWDDoif8C&pg=PA23|year=2007|publisher=Evans Brothers|isbn=978-0-237-53003-7}}
*{{cite book|last1=Wildes|first1=Karl L.|last2=Lindgren|first2=Nilo A.|title=A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, 1882–1982|url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofelectri0000wild|url-access=registration|page=|date=1 January 1985|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-23119-0}}
*{{cite book|last1=Zhang|first1=Yan|last2=Hu|first2=Honglin|last3=Luo|first3=Jijun|title=Distributed Antenna Systems: Open Architecture for Future Wireless Communications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RrbB17RYxoC&pg=PA448|date=27 June 2007|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-4289-4}}


==Further reading==
== External links ==
{{Library resources box}}
*
*{{cite book|last1=Adhami|first1=Reza|last2=Meenen|first2=Peter M.|last3=Hite|first3=Denis|title=Fundamental Concepts in Electrical and Computer Engineering with Practical Design Problems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nqkVbFPutYC|year=2007|publisher=Universal-Publishers|isbn=978-1-58112-971-7}}
* Learn the nuts and bolts about building electrical circuits, and to build appliances based on electrical circuits
*{{cite book|last1=Bober|first1=William|last2=Stevens|first2=Andrew|title=Numerical and Analytical Methods with MATLAB for Electrical Engineers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yiL6EWiWaUYC|date=27 August 2012|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-5429-7}}
* A virtual museum that illustrates many of the basic electrical engineering and electricity concepts through examples, figures, and interviews.
*{{cite book|last=Bobrow|first=Leonard S.|title=Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEr779Z80LgC|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510509-4}}
* This is an excellent resource for anyone that is interested in electrical engineering as a career. Learn what electrical engineers do on a daily basis, where they work, how much they earn, and much more.
*{{cite book|last=Chen|first=Wai Kai|title=The Electrical Engineering Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhHsSlazGrQC|date=16 November 2004|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-047748-0}}
*{{cite book|last1=Ciuprina|first1=G.|last2=Ioan|first2=D.|title=Scientific Computing in Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFVbC-e5_DkC|date=30 May 2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-540-71980-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Faria|first=J. A. Brandao|title=Electromagnetic Foundations of Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Xk4NO1b8CUC|date=15 September 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-69748-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Lincoln D.|title=Electrical Engineering: Problems and Solutions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLIxyZSCfosC|date=July 2004|publisher=Dearborn Trade Publishing|isbn=978-1-4195-2131-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Karalis|first=Edward|title=350 Solved Electrical Engineering Problems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CP73jv-GBMkC|date=18 September 2003|publisher=Dearborn Trade Publishing|isbn=978-0-7931-8511-5}}
*{{cite book|last1=Krawczyk|first1=Andrzej|last2=Wiak|first2=S.|title=Electromagnetic Fields in Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwN2--zVLZsC|date=1 January 2002|publisher=IOS Press|isbn=978-1-58603-232-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Laplante|first=Phillip A.|title=Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=soSsLATmZnkC|date=31 December 1999|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-540-64835-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Leon-Garcia|first=Alberto|title=Probability, Statistics, and Random Processes for Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUJosCkbBywC|year=2008|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-13-147122-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Malaric|first=Roman|title=Instrumentation and Measurement in Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9np_Rr-ahI8C|year=2011|publisher=Universal-Publishers|isbn=978-1-61233-500-1}}
*{{cite book|last1=Sahay|first1=Kuldeep|last2=Pathak |first2=Shivendra |title=Basic Concepts of Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3c27IaomA0C|date=1 January 2006|publisher=New Age International|isbn=978-81-224-1836-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Srinivas|first=Kn|title=Basic Electrical Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sb6a_isNGl8C|date=1 January 2007|publisher=I. K. International Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-81-89866-34-1}}


==External links==
{{Wikibooks}}
{{Sister project links}}
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126142615/http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/index.htm |date=26 January 2008 }} in-depth look at Electrical Engineering – online courses with video lectures.
* A wiki-based site with many resources about the history of IEEE, its members, their professions and electrical and informational technologies and sciences.


{{Engineering fields}}
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Latest revision as of 09:58, 3 December 2024

Branch of engineering Not to be confused with Electronic engineering.

Electrical engineering
A long row of disconnectors
Occupation
NamesElectrical engineer
Activity sectorsElectronics, electrical circuits, electromagnetics, power engineering, electrical machines, telecommunications, control systems, signal processing, optics, photonics, and electrical substations
Description
CompetenciesTechnical knowledge, management skills, advanced mathematics, systems design, physics, abstract thinking, analytical thinking, philosophy of logic (see also Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering)
Fields of
employment
Technology, science, exploration, military, industry and society

Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the latter half of the 19th century after the commercialization of the electric telegraph, the telephone, and electrical power generation, distribution, and use.

Electrical engineering is divided into a wide range of different fields, including computer engineering, systems engineering, power engineering, telecommunications, radio-frequency engineering, signal processing, instrumentation, photovoltaic cells, electronics, and optics and photonics. Many of these disciplines overlap with other engineering branches, spanning a huge number of specializations including hardware engineering, power electronics, electromagnetics and waves, microwave engineering, nanotechnology, electrochemistry, renewable energies, mechatronics/control, and electrical materials science.

Electrical engineers typically hold a degree in electrical engineering, electronic or electrical and electronic engineering. Practicing engineers may have professional certification and be members of a professional body or an international standards organization. These include the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET, formerly the IEE).

Electrical engineers work in a very wide range of industries and the skills required are likewise variable. These range from circuit theory to the management skills of a project manager. The tools and equipment that an individual engineer may need are similarly variable, ranging from a simple voltmeter to sophisticated design and manufacturing software.

History

Main article: History of electrical engineering

Electricity has been a subject of scientific interest since at least the early 17th century. William Gilbert was a prominent early electrical scientist, and was the first to draw a clear distinction between magnetism and static electricity. He is credited with establishing the term "electricity". He also designed the versorium: a device that detects the presence of statically charged objects. In 1762 Swedish professor Johan Wilcke invented a device later named electrophorus that produced a static electric charge. By 1800 Alessandro Volta had developed the voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric battery.

19th century

The discoveries of Michael Faraday formed the foundation of electric motor technology.

In the 19th century, research into the subject started to intensify. Notable developments in this century include the work of Hans Christian Ørsted, who discovered in 1820 that an electric current produces a magnetic field that will deflect a compass needle; of William Sturgeon, who in 1825 invented the electromagnet; of Joseph Henry and Edward Davy, who invented the electrical relay in 1835; of Georg Ohm, who in 1827 quantified the relationship between the electric current and potential difference in a conductor; of Michael Faraday, the discoverer of electromagnetic induction in 1831; and of James Clerk Maxwell, who in 1873 published a unified theory of electricity and magnetism in his treatise Electricity and Magnetism.

In 1782, Georges-Louis Le Sage developed and presented in Berlin probably the world's first form of electric telegraphy, using 24 different wires, one for each letter of the alphabet. This telegraph connected two rooms. It was an electrostatic telegraph that moved gold leaf through electrical conduction.

In 1795, Francisco Salva Campillo proposed an electrostatic telegraph system. Between 1803 and 1804, he worked on electrical telegraphy, and in 1804, he presented his report at the Royal Academy of Natural Sciences and Arts of Barcelona. Salva's electrolyte telegraph system was very innovative though it was greatly influenced by and based upon two discoveries made in Europe in 1800—Alessandro Volta's electric battery for generating an electric current and William Nicholson and Anthony Carlyle's electrolysis of water. Electrical telegraphy may be considered the first example of electrical engineering. Electrical engineering became a profession in the later 19th century. Practitioners had created a global electric telegraph network, and the first professional electrical engineering institutions were founded in the UK and the US to support the new discipline. Francis Ronalds created an electric telegraph system in 1816 and documented his vision of how the world could be transformed by electricity. Over 50 years later, he joined the new Society of Telegraph Engineers (soon to be renamed the Institution of Electrical Engineers) where he was regarded by other members as the first of their cohort. By the end of the 19th century, the world had been forever changed by the rapid communication made possible by the engineering development of land-lines, submarine cables, and, from about 1890, wireless telegraphy.

Practical applications and advances in such fields created an increasing need for standardized units of measure. They led to the international standardization of the units volt, ampere, coulomb, ohm, farad, and henry. This was achieved at an international conference in Chicago in 1893. The publication of these standards formed the basis of future advances in standardization in various industries, and in many countries, the definitions were immediately recognized in relevant legislation.

During these years, the study of electricity was largely considered to be a subfield of physics since early electrical technology was considered electromechanical in nature. The Technische Universität Darmstadt founded the world's first department of electrical engineering in 1882 and introduced the first-degree course in electrical engineering in 1883. The first electrical engineering degree program in the United States was started at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the physics department under Professor Charles Cross, though it was Cornell University to produce the world's first electrical engineering graduates in 1885. The first course in electrical engineering was taught in 1883 in Cornell's Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts.

In about 1885, Cornell President Andrew Dickson White established the first Department of Electrical Engineering in the United States. In the same year, University College London founded the first chair of electrical engineering in Great Britain. Professor Mendell P. Weinbach at University of Missouri established the electrical engineering department in 1886. Afterwards, universities and institutes of technology gradually started to offer electrical engineering programs to their students all over the world.

During these decades the use of electrical engineering increased dramatically. In 1882, Thomas Edison switched on the world's first large-scale electric power network that provided 110 volts—direct current (DC)—to 59 customers on Manhattan Island in New York City. In 1884, Sir Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine allowing for more efficient electric power generation. Alternating current, with its ability to transmit power more efficiently over long distances via the use of transformers, developed rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s with transformer designs by Károly Zipernowsky, Ottó Bláthy and Miksa Déri (later called ZBD transformers), Lucien Gaulard, John Dixon Gibbs and William Stanley Jr. Practical AC motor designs including induction motors were independently invented by Galileo Ferraris and Nikola Tesla and further developed into a practical three-phase form by Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown. Charles Steinmetz and Oliver Heaviside contributed to the theoretical basis of alternating current engineering. The spread in the use of AC set off in the United States what has been called the war of the currents between a George Westinghouse backed AC system and a Thomas Edison backed DC power system, with AC being adopted as the overall standard.

Early 20th century

Guglielmo Marconi, known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission

During the development of radio, many scientists and inventors contributed to radio technology and electronics. The mathematical work of James Clerk Maxwell during the 1850s had shown the relationship of different forms of electromagnetic radiation including the possibility of invisible airborne waves (later called "radio waves"). In his classic physics experiments of 1888, Heinrich Hertz proved Maxwell's theory by transmitting radio waves with a spark-gap transmitter, and detected them by using simple electrical devices. Other physicists experimented with these new waves and in the process developed devices for transmitting and detecting them. In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi began work on a way to adapt the known methods of transmitting and detecting these "Hertzian waves" into a purpose-built commercial wireless telegraphic system. Early on, he sent wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles. In December 1901, he sent wireless waves that were not affected by the curvature of the Earth. Marconi later transmitted the wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, Cornwall, and St. John's, Newfoundland, a distance of 2,100 miles (3,400 km).

Millimetre wave communication was first investigated by Jagadish Chandra Bose during 1894–1896, when he reached an extremely high frequency of up to 60 GHz in his experiments. He also introduced the use of semiconductor junctions to detect radio waves, when he patented the radio crystal detector in 1901.

In 1897, Karl Ferdinand Braun introduced the cathode-ray tube as part of an oscilloscope, a crucial enabling technology for electronic television. John Fleming invented the first radio tube, the diode, in 1904. Two years later, Robert von Lieben and Lee De Forest independently developed the amplifier tube, called the triode.

In 1920, Albert Hull developed the magnetron which would eventually lead to the development of the microwave oven in 1946 by Percy Spencer. In 1934, the British military began to make strides toward radar (which also uses the magnetron) under the direction of Dr Wimperis, culminating in the operation of the first radar station at Bawdsey in August 1936.

In 1941, Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first fully functional and programmable computer using electromechanical parts. In 1943, Tommy Flowers designed and built the Colossus, the world's first fully functional, electronic, digital and programmable computer. In 1946, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) of John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly followed, beginning the computing era. The arithmetic performance of these machines allowed engineers to develop completely new technologies and achieve new objectives.

In 1948, Claude Shannon published "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" which mathematically describes the passage of information with uncertainty (electrical noise).

Solid-state electronics

See also: History of electronic engineering, History of the transistor, Invention of the integrated circuit, MOSFET, and Solid-state electronics
A replica of the first working transistor, a point-contact transistor
Metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), the basic building block of modern electronics

The first working transistor was a point-contact transistor invented by John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain while working under William Shockley at the Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) in 1947. They then invented the bipolar junction transistor in 1948. While early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a mass-production basis, they opened the door for more compact devices.

The first integrated circuits were the hybrid integrated circuit invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments in 1958 and the monolithic integrated circuit chip invented by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1959.

The MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOS transistor) was invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at BTL in 1959. It was the first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses. It revolutionized the electronics industry, becoming the most widely used electronic device in the world.

The MOSFET made it possible to build high-density integrated circuit chips. The earliest experimental MOS IC chip to be fabricated was built by Fred Heiman and Steven Hofstein at RCA Laboratories in 1962. MOS technology enabled Moore's law, the doubling of transistors on an IC chip every two years, predicted by Gordon Moore in 1965. Silicon-gate MOS technology was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968. Since then, the MOSFET has been the basic building block of modern electronics. The mass-production of silicon MOSFETs and MOS integrated circuit chips, along with continuous MOSFET scaling miniaturization at an exponential pace (as predicted by Moore's law), has since led to revolutionary changes in technology, economy, culture and thinking.

The Apollo program which culminated in landing astronauts on the Moon with Apollo 11 in 1969 was enabled by NASA's adoption of advances in semiconductor electronic technology, including MOSFETs in the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) and silicon integrated circuit chips in the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC).

The development of MOS integrated circuit technology in the 1960s led to the invention of the microprocessor in the early 1970s. The first single-chip microprocessor was the Intel 4004, released in 1971. The Intel 4004 was designed and realized by Federico Faggin at Intel with his silicon-gate MOS technology, along with Intel's Marcian Hoff and Stanley Mazor and Busicom's Masatoshi Shima. The microprocessor led to the development of microcomputers and personal computers, and the microcomputer revolution.

Subfields

One of the properties of electricity is that it is very useful for energy transmission as well as for information transmission. These were also the first areas in which electrical engineering was developed. Today, electrical engineering has many subdisciplines, the most common of which are listed below. Although there are electrical engineers who focus exclusively on one of these subdisciplines, many deal with a combination of them. Sometimes, certain fields, such as electronic engineering and computer engineering, are considered disciplines in their own right.

Power and energy

Main articles: Power engineering and Energy engineering
The top of a power pole

Power & Energy engineering deals with the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices. These include transformers, electric generators, electric motors, high voltage engineering, and power electronics. In many regions of the world, governments maintain an electrical network called a power grid that connects a variety of generators together with users of their energy. Users purchase electrical energy from the grid, avoiding the costly exercise of having to generate their own. 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.

Telecommunications

Main article: Telecommunications engineering
Satellite dishes are a crucial component in the analysis of satellite information.

Telecommunications engineering focuses on the transmission of information across a communication channel such as a coax cable, optical fiber or free space. Transmissions across free space require information to be encoded in a carrier signal to shift the information to a carrier frequency suitable for transmission; this is known as modulation. Popular analog modulation techniques include amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. 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. These two are sometimes combined to form a two-way communication device known as a transceiver. A key consideration in the design of transmitters is their power consumption as this is closely related to their signal strength. Typically, if the power of the transmitted signal is insufficient once the signal arrives at the receiver's antenna(s), the information contained in the signal will be corrupted by noise, specifically static.

Control engineering

Main articles: Control engineering and Control theory
Control systems play a critical role in spaceflight.

Control engineering focuses on the modeling 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, electronics control engineers may use electronic circuits, digital signal processors, microcontrollers, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). 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. It also plays an important role in industrial automation.

Control engineers often use feedback when designing control systems. For example, in an automobile with cruise control the vehicle's speed is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the motor's power output accordingly. Where there is regular feedback, control theory can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback.

Control engineers also work in robotics to design autonomous systems using control algorithms which interpret sensory feedback to control actuators that move robots such as autonomous vehicles, autonomous drones and others used in a variety of industries.

Electronics

Main article: Electronic engineering
Electronic components

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. The tuned circuit, which allows the user of a radio to filter out all but a single station, is just one example of such a circuit. Another example to research is a pneumatic signal conditioner.

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. Later, in post-war years, as consumer devices began to be developed, the field grew to include modern television, audio systems, computers, and microprocessors. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the term radio engineering gradually gave way to the name electronic engineering.

Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by humans. These discrete circuits consumed much space and power and were limited in speed, although they are still common in some applications. 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. This allowed for the powerful computers and other electronic devices we see today.

Microelectronics and nanoelectronics

Main articles: Microelectronics, Nanoelectronics, and Chip design
Microprocessor

Microelectronics engineering deals with the design and microfabrication of very small electronic circuit components for use in an integrated circuit or sometimes for use on their own as a general electronic component. The most common microelectronic components are semiconductor transistors, although all main electronic components (resistors, capacitors etc.) can be created at a microscopic level.

Nanoelectronics is the further scaling of devices down to nanometer levels. Modern devices are already in the nanometer regime, with below 100 nm processing having been standard since around 2002.

Microelectronic components are created by chemically fabricating wafers of semiconductors such as silicon (at higher frequencies, compound semiconductors like 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

Main article: Signal processing
A Bayer filter on a CCD requires signal processing to get a red, green, and blue value at each pixel.

Signal processing deals with the analysis and manipulation of signals. Signals can be either analog, in which case the signal varies continuously according to the information, or digital, in which case the signal varies according to a series of discrete values representing the information. For analog signals, signal processing may involve the amplification and filtering of audio signals for audio equipment or the modulation and demodulation of signals for telecommunications. For digital signals, signal processing may involve the compression, error detection and error correction of digitally sampled signals.

Signal processing is a very mathematically oriented and intensive area forming the core of digital signal processing and it is rapidly expanding with new applications in every field of electrical engineering such as communications, control, radar, audio engineering, broadcast engineering, power electronics, and biomedical engineering as many already existing analog systems are replaced with their digital counterparts. Analog signal processing is still important in the design of many control systems.

DSP processor ICs are found in many types of modern electronic devices, such as digital television sets, radios, hi-fi audio equipment, mobile phones, multimedia players, camcorders and digital cameras, automobile control systems, noise cancelling headphones, digital spectrum analyzers, missile guidance systems, radar systems, and telematics systems. In such products, DSP may be responsible for noise reduction, speech recognition or synthesis, encoding or decoding digital media, wirelessly transmitting or receiving data, triangulating positions using GPS, and other kinds of image processing, video processing, audio processing, and speech processing.

Instrumentation

Main article: Instrumentation engineering
Flight instruments provide pilots with the tools to control aircraft analytically.

Instrumentation engineering deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as pressure, flow, and temperature. The design of such instruments requires a good understanding of physics that often extends beyond electromagnetic theory. For example, flight instruments measure variables such as wind speed and altitude to enable pilots the control of aircraft analytically. Similarly, thermocouples use the Peltier-Seebeck effect to measure the temperature difference between two points.

Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the sensors of larger electrical systems. For example, a thermocouple might be used to help ensure a furnace's temperature remains constant. For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control.

Computers

Main article: Computer engineering
Supercomputers are used in fields as diverse as computational biology and geographic information systems.

Computer engineering deals with the design of computers and computer systems. This may involve the design of new hardware. 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 embedded devices including video game consoles and DVD players. Computer engineers are involved in many hardware and software aspects of computing. Robots are one of the applications of computer engineering.

Photonics and optics

Main articles: Photonics, Optics, and Fiber-optic communication
Electromagnetic spectrum showing wavelengths from radio waves (1 km) to gamma rays (0.01 nm). Visible light Information transmission in electrical engineering applications most frequently uses infrared light in the C band (1530–1565 nm).

Photonics and optics deals with the generation, transmission, amplification, modulation, detection, and analysis of electromagnetic radiation. The application of optics deals with design of optical instruments such as lenses, microscopes, telescopes, and other equipment that uses the properties of electromagnetic radiation. Other prominent applications of optics include electro-optical sensors and measurement systems, lasers, fiber-optic communication systems, and optical disc systems (e.g. CD and DVD). Photonics builds heavily on optical technology, supplemented with modern developments such as optoelectronics (mostly involving semiconductors), laser systems, optical amplifiers and novel materials (e.g. metamaterials).

Related disciplines

The Bird VIP Infant ventilator

Mechatronics is an engineering discipline that 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. Electronic systems design is the subject within electrical engineering that deals with the multi-disciplinary design issues of complex electrical and mechanical systems.

The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to macroscopic systems but futurists have predicted the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already, such small devices, known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), are used in automobiles to tell airbags when to deploy, in digital projectors to create sharper images, and in inkjet printers to create nozzles for high definition printing. In the future it is hoped the devices will help build tiny implantable medical devices and improve optical communication.

In aerospace engineering and robotics, an example is the most recent electric propulsion and ion propulsion.

Education

Main article: Education and training of electrical and electronics engineers
Oscilloscope

Electrical engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, electrical engineering technology, or electrical and electronic engineering. The same fundamental principles are taught in all programs, though emphasis may vary according to title. 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 Science in Electrical/Electronics Engineering Technology, Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Technology, or Bachelor of Applied Science, depending on the university. The bachelor's degree generally includes units covering physics, mathematics, computer science, project management, and a variety of topics in electrical engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the subdisciplines of electrical engineering. At some schools, the students can then choose to emphasize one or more subdisciplines towards the end of their courses of study.

An example circuit diagram, which is useful in circuit design and troubleshooting

At many schools, electronic engineering is included as part of an electrical award, sometimes explicitly, such as a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic), but in others, electrical and electronic engineering are both considered to be sufficiently broad and complex that separate degrees are offered.

Some electrical engineers choose to study for a postgraduate degree such as a Master of Engineering/Master of Science (MEng/MSc), a Master of Engineering Management, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Engineering, an Engineering Doctorate (Eng.D.), or an Engineer's degree. The master's and engineer's degrees may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy and Engineering Doctorate degrees consist of a significant research component and are often viewed as the entry point to academia. In the United Kingdom and some other European countries, Master of Engineering is often considered to be an undergraduate degree of slightly longer duration than the Bachelor of Engineering rather than a standalone postgraduate degree.

Professional practice

Belgian electrical engineers inspecting the rotor of a 40,000 kilowatt turbine of the General Electric Company in New York City

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 or Incorporated Engineer (in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European Engineer (in much of the European Union).

The IEEE corporate office is on the 17th floor of 3 Park Avenue in New York City.

The advantages of licensure vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may seal engineering work for public and private clients". This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineers Act. In other countries, no such legislation exists. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion. In this way these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract law. 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 Engineering and Technology (IET). The IEEE claims to produce 30% of the world's literature in electrical engineering, has over 360,000 members worldwide and holds over 3,000 conferences annually. The IET publishes 21 journals, has a worldwide membership of over 150,000, and claims to be the largest professional engineering society in Europe. Obsolescence of technical skills is a serious concern for electrical engineers. Membership and participation in technical societies, regular reviews of periodicals in the field and a habit of continued learning are therefore essential to maintaining proficiency. An MIET(Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology) is recognised in Europe as an Electrical and computer (technology) engineer.

In Australia, Canada, and the United States, electrical engineers make up around 0.25% of the labor force.

Tools and work

From the Global Positioning System to electric power generation, electrical engineers have contributed to the development of 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 telecommunications 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.

Satellite communications is typical of what electrical engineers work on.

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. Nevertheless, the ability to sketch ideas is still invaluable for quickly communicating with others.

The Shadow robot hand system

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. Even circuit theory may not be relevant to a person designing telecommunications systems that use off-the-shelf components. 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.

A laser bouncing down an acrylic rod, illustrating the total internal reflection of light in a multi-mode optical fiber

A wide range of instrumentation is used by electrical engineers. For simple control circuits and alarms, a basic multimeter measuring voltage, current, and resistance may suffice. Where time-varying signals need to be studied, the oscilloscope is also an ubiquitous instrument. In RF engineering and high-frequency telecommunications, spectrum analyzers and network analyzers are used. In some disciplines, safety can be a particular concern with instrumentation. For instance, medical electronics designers must take into account that much lower voltages than normal can be dangerous when electrodes are directly in contact with internal body fluids. Power transmission engineering also has great safety concerns due to the high voltages used; although voltmeters may in principle be similar to their low voltage equivalents, safety and calibration issues make them very different. Many disciplines of electrical engineering use tests specific to their discipline. Audio electronics engineers use audio test sets consisting of a signal generator and a meter, principally to measure level but also other parameters such as harmonic distortion and noise. Likewise, information technology have their own test sets, often specific to a particular data format, and the same is true of television broadcasting.

Radome at the Misawa Air Base Misawa Security Operations Center, Misawa, Japan

For many engineers, technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. A lot of time may also be spent on tasks such as discussing proposals with clients, preparing budgets and determining project schedules. Many senior engineers manage a team of technicians or other engineers and for this reason project management skills are important. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and strong written communication skills are therefore very important.

The workplaces of engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. Electrical engineers may be found in the pristine lab environment of a fabrication plant, on board a Naval ship, the offices of a consulting firm or on site at a mine. During their working life, electrical engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including scientists, electricians, computer programmers, and other engineers.

Electrical engineering has an intimate relationship with the physical sciences. For instance, the physicist Lord Kelvin played a major role in the engineering of the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Conversely, the engineer Oliver Heaviside produced major work on the mathematics of transmission on telegraph cables. Electrical engineers are often required on major science projects. For instance, large particle accelerators such as CERN need electrical engineers to deal with many aspects of the project including the power distribution, the instrumentation, and the manufacture and installation of the superconducting electromagnets.

See also

Notes

  1. For more see glossary of electrical and electronics engineering.
  2. In May 2014 there were around 175,000 people working as electrical engineers in the US. In 2012, Australia had around 19,000 while in Canada, there were around 37,000 (as of 2007), constituting about 0.2% of the labour force in each of the three countries. Australia and Canada reported that 96% and 88% of their electrical engineers respectively are male.

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