Electronic Components – No See

electronic+components

Out of Site Electronic Components

Unless you're somehow involved in the industry or you're a person who uses them, then it is highly likely that you're not at all familiar with electronic components.  The reason is that these devises tend to be small.  Electronic components also are generally not in open view.  In other words they are out of sight.  And you know the old saying:  "Out of sight, out of mind."

The purpose of this post is NOT to define what electronic components are or are not.  Rather, I want to underscore their value in today's society.  Before that, let's just say that for the purposes here, I'm using a more traditional view of electronic components where I view them as devices with a leads or terminals.  For example, your smart phone (iPhone) is not an electronic component.  But if you were to open it up (something Apple absolutely does not want you to do ever, ever, ever!) you would see that it is made up of lots of electronic components.

Examples of Electronic Components

This article being more for the non-technical reader, I want to give you a good general listing of various electronic components.  I like the list in the Wikipedia article on this subject (which I reference and link to at the bottom of this page for those interested in more information along with excellent resource links).  Here's their listing:

  • Terminals and connectors
  • Cable assemblies
  • Switches
  • Resistors
  • Protection devices
  • Capacitors
  • Magnetic (inductive) devices
  • Networks
  • Piezoelectric devices, crystals, resonators
  • Power sources
  • Transducers, sensors, detectors
  • Semiconductors
    • Diodes
    • Transistors
    • Integrated circuits
    • Optoelectronic devices
  • Display technologies
  • Vacuum tubes (Valves)
  • Discharge devices
  • Antennas
  • Assemblies, modules
  • Prototyping aids
  • Mechanical accessories

Okay, and believe it or not this is NOT an exhaustive list of categories for electronic components.  But you should get the general idea for sure.  There are lots of these devices and they're important to running all the many electronic devices that have become and will be so much a part of our culture.

Practical Side of Electronic Components

Let's take this conversation out of the stratosphere for some and get it down to something more tangible and basic.  Let's say that you've got your friendly laptop or desktop computer cranking watching videos and playing games and you hear the light whir sound of the fan going on inside that computer.  The fan is an example of just one of the electronic components that make up the guts of your computer.  Now not all devices have internal fans (iPads don't), but they all do have electronic components....and usually lots of different ones.

By now you should be getting a decent 10,000 foot appreciation for what electronic components are.  Although we do not see them, they are a mainstay and vital part of life as we've come to know it today.  We might not see electronic components but they're there doing their magic to run all the electronics that we've become so dependent upon in modern Western society.

 

Exploding electronic components in HD

There's a really good article delving much deeper into all the various categories and classifications that you can read in Wikipedia when you click on the link in electronic components.