Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?

Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by pjc50 on Thursday June 18, 2020 @08:29AM (#23562425)

Hmm. What level do you want to start from, and do you want to start from a practical/experimentalist viewpoint or go straight to the mathematical models?

How comfortable are you with "lies for children" oversimplifications of things that are extremely complicated but mostly irrelevant except in edge cases? (This phrase sounds perjorative but isn't, most of the time you don't need the complicated version and it actively impairs understanding what's going on. But it can be the only way to properly answer some questions like "what is electricity?")

I've occasionally considered writing my own, based on answering questions at electronics stackexchange, e.g. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/245610/is-vo... / https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/272694/how-d... ; probably I would target explaining how the electron is a big source of "lies to children", and mostly an irrelevant distraction for beginner/intermediate work.

If you want a large book, The Art Of Electronics is the undisputed classic.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by henrikeh on Thursday June 18, 2020 @08:35AM (#23562472)

I just want to weigh in and say that fantastic as _The Art of Electronics_ is, it is _not_ geared for learning about electricity and electric circuits. The first 13-ish pages (3rd edition) deals with electricity and then quickly moves on to signals, electronics and everything else needed to _develop_ electronic systems.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by joeberon on Thursday June 18, 2020 @08:44AM (#23562547)

I think you're wrong, mainly because learning how to develop electronic systems is, in my opinion (and also in the opinion of the authors of that book), the best way to learn how electricity actually works.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by henrikeh on Thursday June 18, 2020 @08:56AM (#23562626)

There is no reason to be so absolute about it. I'm not saying it is a bad book or that you should read "Field and Wave Electromagnetics" before you ever dare touch a multimeter.

As an example of my reasoning. AoE and the Arduino starter kit cost roughly the same in my country. They are of course not comparable, but I'd would definitely recommend the latter to someone completely new to electronics, exactly because the latter gives the tools for experimenting.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by OnACoffeeBreak on Thursday June 18, 2020 @10:18AM (#23563327)

I agree with you. I have a degree in electrical engineering and use that book to quickly remind myself how something that I haven't used in a long time works and get an overview of practical do's and don'ts. If I had tried learning the basics of electrical circuits from it, I think I'd become discouraged very quickly.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by jeffreyrogers on Thursday June 18, 2020 @11:03AM (#23563704)

It was pretty much my introduction to circuits, and had it not been used in a class with a significant lab component I would have also been discouraged. Great reference, but not good for teaching yourself unless you're very comfortable being confused or have had prior exposure to the material.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electri... by 0culus on Thursday June 18, 2020 @11:43AM (#23564128)

While AoE (and the newly released X-Chapters!) is an excellent handbook to keep around, I would agree with the other commenters that it is not a particularly friendly textbook for a beginner.

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