Stan Gibilisco - Making Everyday Electronics Work: A Do-It-Yourself Guide

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About the Author

Stan Gibilisco, an electronics engineer and mathematician, has authored multiple titles for the McGraw-Hill Demystified and Know-It-All series, along with numerous other technical books and dozens of magazine articles. His work has been published in several languages.

Have you ever felt lost when choosing a home entertainment system, wondered how to test an electrical outlet to see if its grounded, or puzzled over how to make the Wi-Fi in the front room reach the back? If so, read on!

Heres a question that people occasionally ask me, and that baffles me as much as it does them: What is electricity, really? Ill never forget the day my eighth-grade science teacher showed the class a celluloid movie of a lecture where a professor concluded by saying, We learn about electricity not by knowing what it is, but by codifying what it does. I adopted that attitude as I set out to write this book as a how-to guide for nontechnical people who want to learn more about home and automotive electrical and electronic systems, and in particular, what makes them tick (or not).

Youll find out why things sometimes fail, and Ill offer you some solutions to common problems (and tips on how to avoid them). Youll find sidebars to clear up points of confusion and offer targeted bits of advice. In the last chapter, Ill suggest some projects for those of you who might like to try out some off-the-wall projects and experiments. In the back of the book, youll find a glossary that defines common terms in easy-to-understand language.

I welcome your suggestions for future editions. Please visit me on the Web at www.sciencewriter.net .

Stan Gibilisco

Electronic devices and systems have changed peoples lives more in the past century than all prior inventions and events did, going back to prehistoric times. If you dont believe me, wait until you have to live through a long power outage in the wake of a hurricane, earthquake, or wildfire! Sooner or later youll start to wonder if the Stone Age might be about to come back for good. Whats behind all these marvels that present such a tenuous barrier between comfort and chaos? Lets find out what makes them work.

All matter comprises countless tiny particles called atoms. Individual atoms are made up of smaller particles known as protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Protons and neutrons are smaller than any ordinary microscope can see, and they have phenomenal density. A pebble-sized lump of compacted protons or neutrons would weigh so much that it would fall through the floors of your house and bore into the earth as if rock were butter.

In an atom, the protons and neutrons always exist in a clump called the nucleus. (Hydrogen in its most abundant form serves as the lone exception; its whole nucleus is only one proton, all alone.)

Electrons are much less dense than protons or neutrons, and they move a lot more. Electrons can orbit around a single nucleus, wander among many different nuclei, or hurtle freely through space.

Did You Know?

Protons and electrons carry equal and opposite electric charge. Scientists consider protons as electrically positive, and electrons as electrically negative. These charge polarity definitions came about as a coincidental result of observations made long ago in simple experiments.