From TVs to Computers, Radar systems to Radio networks and mobile phones, electronic components and engineering have a “mast” in many related fields in the 21st century! Electronic components are intrinsically linked to circuits, transistors, diodes and semiconductor devices. They are also developed in less obvious ways to analog electronics, consumer electronics and embedded systems.
Take the mobile phone – a communication device that is now so common that we wonder what we did without it. It’s an extremely complex item, full of electronic components. These enable it to calculate and process millions of items per second as it compresses and decompresses the human voice.
A basic mobile phone contains a circuit board, a liquid crystal display, an antenna, keyboard, microphone, speaker and battery. Other electronic components consist of several computer chips which translate the outgoing audio signal from analog to digital and vice versa, at very high speed. There are touch panels which allow the user to simply press part of a screen that “appears” to be a button, but of course, is not!
Light is used in the design of today’s mobile phones and the electronic components behind the LED screens involve attaching a “light guide” to the Contact Sheet to provide great illumination on screen. In addition to colours and shapes on the screen, electronic components combine to create an effect of a glowing light within the handset.
It’s incredible to think that only say, 25 years ago the electronic components that fit into today’s mobile phone would have taken up space in the whole floor of an office building. It now fits into the palm of your hand and makes sure you always “stay connected”.