Electrical technology encompasses all machines, tools, devices and systems in which electrons move along conductors or metals.
Design and development of high-voltage systems and components such as motors, generators, heaters, electrical power transmission and distribution systems, radio wave/optic systems converters and control systems to operate light and heavy machinery are all part of this field.
History
Electrical technology is a science that deals with the design and development of machines, tools, devices and systems which run on an electric current or flow of electrons. This includes everything from motors and generators to heaters and power transmission and distribution networks.
Electricity has been used for centuries as a form of energy. Understanding its history provides us with insight into how technology has progressed and allows us to imagine where we may go next.
Electrical technology was born in the 18th century when scientists and inventors worked to make electricity more useful. These breakthroughs allowed for widespread harnessing of electricity for use in homes and businesses alike.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is a technique by which chemically bound ions and compounds are separated using an electric current. It’s one of the most essential techniques in chemistry and manufacturing.
The electrolytic cell is the vessel for this process, consisting of two electrodes – the anode and cathode. The anode attracts positive ions while the cathode attracts negative ones.
At the anode, positive ions can gain or lose electrons depending on whether they are in contact with an electrode. At the cathode, reactions take place which may result in reduction or oxidation depending on how much potential difference exists between them.
Magnetic fields
Magnetic fields are created when electric charges flow through wires, such as those employed in electricity transmission. They create a magnetic field that encircles the wire on an axis perpendicular to its direction of travel.
Magnetic field strength is measured in units of newton/coulomb (N/C) or volt/meter and depends mainly on the charge between two bodies and their distance apart.
Magnetic fields can be created by charges such as electric current in a wire, or magnetic moments associated with elementary particles that possess certain quantum properties. It is one of the four fundamental forces in nature.
Telegraphs
Telegraphs are devices for sending coded signals over distance. Most commonly, electric telegraphs use electricity; however, wireless telegraphs use radio waves for communication.
Telegraphs have long been used to transmit information over long distances. They could use a variety of methods, from smoke signals and drums to reflected sunlight and visual systems with flags or moving arms.
William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone in England devised the first practical electrical telegraph system. They patented a system that employed compass-like needles on a board to represent letters of the alphabet.
Electric motors
An electric motor is a device that transforms electrical energy into mechanical motion. They can run on either direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC), and find use in many different applications.
An electric motor consists of three components: a rotor, electromagnet and commutator. The rotor is made up of metal that spins with the magnet; while the electromagnet is constructed by winding wire around a piece of metal.
Electric generators
Electric generators transform mechanical energy (such as that provided by steam turbines, gas turbines and wind turbines) into electrical energy. They provide nearly all the electricity used in our world’s power grids.
They work on the principle of electromagnetic induction, discovered by scientist Michael Faraday in 1831 when he observed that moving a magnet inside an electric current-carrying coil of wire.
Generators generate electrical energy either using an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). An AC generator features a rotor and stator, while a DC one requires only the rotor and voltage regulator.
Transformers
A transformer is an electrical device that alters the voltage levels of electrical current flowing through its primary winding.
When the current in the core changes, a varying magnetic flux is created in the core that induces voltage in the secondary winding due to mutual induction.