Terms referenced in the series

Pragma Media Expanded Glossary

  • AND GATE: A logic gate that outputs 1 (true) only if all inputs are 1; otherwise outputs 0.
  • ASSEMBLY: the process of combining devices and components into a higher-level system
  • BASIC: (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code ) an early computer language for learning programming
  • BIT: single binary value of ‘1’ or ‘0’
  • BOARD: a flat piece of copper-plated fibreglass or plastic on which components are placed and soldered to form connections
  • CAPACITANCE / FARAD: Ability of a component to store electric charge. Named after Michael Faraday (1791–1867), the English scientist who discovered electromagnetic induction.
  • CHARGE (ELECTRIC CHARGE): A property of matter that causes it to experience a force when near other charged matter; measured in Coulombs. Electrons carry negative charge.
  • CHIP: a circuit printed in aluminum, copper or gold on a tiny piece of silicon (see integrated circuit)
  • CIRCUIT: a set of paths that electric currents travel through, usually including the source of electric energy
  • CODE: a set of numbers, letters, or signals used in electronics to represent data, instructions, words or images, etc.
  • COMPUTER: electronic machine that stores information and follows instructions to process it
  • CONDUCTION: Heat transfer through direct contact between solid objects
  • CONVECTION: Heat transfer by the movement of fluids (liquids or gases), such as air from a fan
  • COULOMB: The unit of electric charge, equal to the charge of about 6.24 × 10¹⁸ electrons. Named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806).
  • CURRENT (AMPERE): The flow of electrons through a circuit (analogous to water flow rate). Named after André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836).
  • DEVELOPMENT: the process of combining simpler components into something more advanced, such as connecting chips in circuits to make a computer
  • DEVICES: an individual component that performs a specific set of tasks or functions
  • DPAK: Power package microchip character who gets very hot and needs cooling (from MSOP and DPAK: One Hot Day)
  • ELECTRICAL: using or carrying currents produced by voltages between circuit nodes
  • ELECTRICITY: the flow (AC or DC current) or accumulation (static electricity) of electrons
  • ELECTRONIC: similar to electrical, but usually more integrated and complex circuits and functions
  • EMBEDDED: a device that performs a critical function in a larger unit
  • ENGINEER: someone applies scientific principles in an elegant manner to build roads, bridges, machines etc.
  • ESD: Electro-Static Discharge – an event that occurs when electrostatic charge is transferred as a current through a conductor
  • FLIP-FLOP: A basic digital circuit that can store one bit of data (0 or 1) and “remember” its state until changed; the building block of computer memory.
  • FORTRAN: (FORmula TRANslation) an early programming language used for science and engineering
  • FUZZY: unclear or lacking specifics; a type of calculation logic that attempts to mimic complex human decisions
  • GREY GOOP: (see also Solder Paste)
  • HEAT SINK: Metal structure that pulls heat away from chips
  • INFORMATION: a meaningful arrangement or sequence of data
  • INTEGRATED CIRCUIT: a chip or device that incorporates multiple functions or data processing elements
  • LEAD FRAME: Metal structure inside a microchip package that conducts both electricity and heat
  • LOGIC GATE: Basic building block of digital circuits that performs Boolean operations (AND, OR, NOT, etc.)
  • MAINFRAME: a large computer that can be used by many people, originally named after the early floor-standing
  • MANUFACTURING: process of assembling devices or systems into more complex devices or systems using machines
  • MEMORY: a device or subsystem that stores information, usually in a large array of cells which store bits
  • MICROCHIPS: a very small piece of silicon containing circuits designed to perform one or more functions
  • MSOP: Power supply monitor chip character that protects other chips from overheating
  • NAND GATE: A logic gate that outputs 0 only if all inputs are 1 (universal gate)
  • NETWORK: a system of interconnected systems that allows communication between them
  • NOISE: to people, usually an annoying sound, in electronics, spurious signals that interfere with information integrity
  • NOR GATE: A logic gate that outputs 1 only if all inputs are 0 (the opposite of OR; universal gate)
  • NOT GATE (INVERTER): A logic gate that reverses the input signal — input 0 becomes output 1, and vice versa.
  • “NUTS-AND-VOLTS”: a play on words used in SOIC and SOT, and a long running electronics magazine
  • OR GATE: A logic gate that outputs 1 if at least one input is 1; outputs 0 only if all inputs are 0.
  • PATENTS: a temporary initial monopoly for an inventor to make and sell a new product
  • PICK AND PLACE: an automated process of removing devices from their packaging and placing them in the right place on a circuit board
  • PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: Design strategy that shortens a product’s useful life to encourage frequent replacement
  • PLASTIC: the quality of being easily made into any shape
  • POWER (WATTS): Rate of energy use = Voltage × Current; much of it turns into heat in electronics
  • PRINTER: a machine connected to a computer that puts documents from the computer onto paper
  • RADIATION: Heat transfer as invisible infrared waves through space
  • REEL: a round object, similar to a movie film reel, onto which devices in regularly spaced plastic tape carriers are wound
  • REFLOW: the method of applying heat to solder until it liquifies and flows between connections
  • RESISTANCE (OHM): Opposition to current flow (analogous to a kink in a hose); also generates heat. Named after Georg Simon Ohm (1789–1854).
  • RIGHT TO REPAIR: Movement advocating for consumers’ ability to fix their own devices
  • SCANNING: in which a machine produces a picture of the inside of your body
  • SCIENCE: knowledge about the physical world, especially based on examining, testing, and validation of hypothesis
  • SEMICONDUCTOR: a crystalline substance such as silicon, that allows electric charges to be modulated, stored, switched or impeded
  • SOFTWARE: sets of instructions that tell a computer what to do (see also Code)
  • SOIC: Small Outline Integrated Circuit, a specific standard microchip encapsulation packaging shape
  • SOLDER: a soft metal, historically a mixture of lead, tin and antimony, which can be melted and used to fasten together two metal surfaces
  • SOLDER PASTE: a mixture of flux and microspheres of solder which are applied to contact areas
  • SOT: Small Outline Transistor, a specific standard microchip encapsulation packaging shape with 3 or more contacts
  • STATIC ELECTRICITY: Build-up of charge that can suddenly discharge as ESD/ZAP
  • SYSTEM: a group of related components assembled as a whole for a particular function
  • TECHNOLOGY: machines, equipment, and ways of working that are based on science
  • TEST: to measure a device’s or system’s functionality by applying multiple input values and verifying proper output responses
  • THERMAL RESISTANCE: A material’s opposition to the flow of heat
  • TRANSISTOR: a basic semiconductor element that controls the flow of electricity in one path by the signal applied to another
  • TSSOP: Thin-shrink small-outline package microchip character who gets zapped by static electricity
  • VOLTAGE (VOLT): Electrical “pressure” that pushes current through a circuit. Named after Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), inventor of the first chemical battery.
  • ZAP: A sudden electrostatic discharge (ESD) that can damage or destroy sensitive microchips, as experienced by TSSOP.