Electrical engineering
Electrical Engineers design complex power
systems...
... and electronic circuits.
Electrical engineering, sometimes referred
to as electrical and electronic engineer-
ing, is a field of engineering that deals with
the study and application of electricity, elec-
tronics and electromagnetism. The field first
became an identifiable occupation in the late
nineteenth century after commercialization
of the electric telegraph and electrical power
supply. It now covers a range of subtopics in-
cluding power, electronics, control systems,
signal processing and telecommunications.
Electrical engineering may or may not in-
clude electronic engineering. Where a dis-
tinction is made, usually outside of the Un-
ited States, electrical engineering is con-
sidered to deal with the problems associated
with large-scale electrical systems such as
power
transmission and motor control,
whereas electronic engineering deals with
the study of small-scale electronic systems in-
cluding computers and integrated circuits.[1]
Alternatively, electrical engineers are usually
concerned with using electricity to transmit
energy, while electronic engineers are con-
cerned with using electricity to transmit
information.
History
Electricity has been a subject of scientific in-
terest since at least the early 17th century.
The first electrical engineer was probably
William Gilbert who designed the versorium:
a device that detected the presence of static-
ally charged objects. He was also the first to
draw a clear distinction between magnetism
and static electricity and is credited with es-
tablishing the term electricity.[2] In 1775
Alessandro Volta’s scientific experimenta-
tions devised the electrophorus, a device that
produced a static electric charge, and by
1800 Volta developed the voltaic pile, a fore-
runner of the electric battery.[3]
However, it was not until the 19th century
that research into the subject started to in-
tensify. Notable developments in this century
include the work of Georg Ohm, who in 1827
quantif