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A comment on Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics? by dreamcompiler on Friday April 06, 2018 @09:01PM (#16778824)
> "amplifiers oscillate; oscillators don’t”

Indeed. Also, the purpose of expensive integrated circuits is to protect the delicate fuses in your design.

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Re:Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics? by danellis on Saturday April 07, 2018 @12:10AM (#16779327)
I understand that both of these things are supposed to be ironic, but I don't quite get them. What are they referring to?
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Re:Ask HN: How to self-learn electronics? by setquk on Saturday April 07, 2018 @02:39AM (#16779669)
Oscillators are supposed to oscillate but when you want them to, they don’t resulting in debugging.

Amplifiers can have a big phase shift and gain which fulfills barkhausen criteria which is the fundamental requirement for something to oscillate. Oscillating amplifiers are usually a very bad problem because it trashes the signal you are amplifying and tends to suck up a lot of power.

Fuses take a glacial amount of time to blow compared to an integrated circuit. When something goes wrong the IC blows up way before the fuse goes.

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