Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Electronics

Outlet: A store selling goods of a company, usually at a lower price.

Outcome: The result or effect of an action, situation, or event.

Outlook: The likely future situation.

Outing: A short journey made by a group of people.

Onset: A start; a beginning.

Outrage: A strong feeling of shock.

Outbreak: A sudden appearance of a disease.

Outlay: An amount spent at the beginning of a business.

Idioms and Expressions

Break the mould: To be new and different.

Blind someone with science: To confuse somebody by using difficult or technical words.

Move with the times: To change and become more modern because attitudes and fashion are changing.

Be someone's guinea pig: To be the subject of an experiment.

Turn the clock back: To want to return to a past situation because... Continue reading "Essential Vocabulary: Definitions for Modern Concepts" »

Sports

Competition

Movement

Keeping Fit

Vocabulary for Urban Living

Neighbour: person living near you

Zip code: code of letters and digits added to a postal address

Post code: postal number for the area of the city where you live in

Parking lot: place where vehicles can be parked in

Car park: place where vehicles can be parked in

Elevator: small room that carries people/goods up and down a building

Lift: device that carries people/goods up and down inside buildings

Make a name for yourself: become famous/respected by a lot of people

Make a start on/get going: begin something

Get the picture: understand what you are told

Have something against: object to something

To do your utmost: do your best

Have no option (but to do something): not have the possibility to do something else

Make a list of:... Continue reading "Vocabulary for Urban Living: Neighbors, Parking, and Housing" »

Sony Announces the PlayStation 4

At the PlayStation Meeting 2013 in New York, Sony revealed its latest gaming console: the PlayStation 4. While the console's hardware remained under wraps, attendees were treated to demos of several upcoming games. Details such as price and release date are yet to be announced, but more information is expected at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

A Focus on Games

Lead architect Mark Cerny took the stage, reviewing the history of PlayStation before officially announcing the PS4. While some technical specifications were mentioned, the primary focus was on the games.

Knack and Killzone

The first demo showcased Knack, a family-friendly game designed by Cerny himself. For hardcore gamers, a new installment in... Continue reading "PlayStation 4 Unveiled: A Glimpse into the Future of Gaming" »

Understanding Intonation in Speech

Stress-timed Rhythm: In stress-timed languages, the time between stressed syllables is roughly equal. Unstressed words are often reduced in both quality and quantity.

Syllable-timed Rhythm: In syllable-timed languages, each syllable takes approximately the same amount of time. Vowel quality remains consistent across both accented and unaccented syllables.

Functions of Intonation

Attitudinal Function

Intonation expresses attitudes and emotions, such as shock, pleasure, anger, interest, boredom, seriousness, or sarcasm. This is primarily conveyed through tone.

Grammatical Function

Intonation helps identify grammatical structures, similar to punctuation in writing. It marks the beginning and end of grammatical units... Continue reading "Understanding Intonation: Functions and Timing in Speech" »

The field of radio frequency (RF) and microwave engineering generally covers the behavior of alternating current signals with frequencies in the range of 100 MHz (1 MHz = 10⁶ Hz) to 1000 GHz (1 GHz = 10⁹ Hz). RF frequencies range from very high frequency (VHF) (30–300 MHz) to ultra high frequency (UHF) (300–3000 MHz), while the term microwave is typically used for frequencies between 3 and 300 GHz, with a corresponding electrical wavelength between λ = c/ f = 10 cm and λ = 1 mm, respectively. Signals with wavelengths on the order of millimeters are often referred to as millimeter waves.

Limitations of Standard Circuit Theory

Because of the high frequencies (and short wavelengths), standard circuit theory often cannot be used directly to... Continue reading "RF and Microwave Engineering: Principles and Applications" »

Synchro Systems

• What lead on a transistor has a colored dot? - Collector lead.
• Differential synchro system - Combines two or more inputs.
• Which of these creates error voltage? - TDX.
• Controlled system - The processing plant range which is to be...
• Control units in a control synchro system are driven by - Electromagnetic or mechanical means.
• Resolvers generally provide - Very reliable outputs.
• Resolver synchro system - Transmits angular position with high accuracy.
• Air gap inaccuracies in synchros - Bring huge problems in controlling.
• Instability of transmitter - The momentum of the servo motor to go...
• If the synchro transmitter rotor is turned - The field turns the same angle.
• Torque systems are used for - Light loads, such as the position of dials..

Present simple

I go/she goes, I don't go/she doesn't go, Do I go/Does she go?
- Regular habit or routine, a true scientific fact (always usually at 1 o'clock at night...)

Present continuous

I am asking, I'm not asking, Am I asking?
- Action happening now (now at the moment right now), temporary action (this year at present today these days...), plan for the near future (this evening tonight tomorrow...)

Past simple

I worked, I didn't work, Did I work?
- Completed action in the past, series of completed actions in the past (yesterday last week when then)

Past continuous

I was running/you were running, I wasn't running/you weren't running, Was I running?/Were you running?
- Action in progress at a specific time in the past (at 4 o'clock last night...),... Continue reading "Verb Tenses in English: Present, Past, Future" »

Felicity Conditions in Communication

Let's analyze some examples:

• "Hi Joe, how are you?" - S wants to know A. H knows A.
• "Can you open the window?" - S wants H to do A. H is capable of doing A. S believes that H is willing to do A.
• "Mom, I am home." - S wants H to know A. H wants to know A.

Discourse and Language in Context

Discourse is language in context. It is given in a social context and involves interaction. Key factors include:

• Channel (S, W)
• Agent (mono, di, multi)
• Register (Formal, informal)
• Social context
• Purpose (transactional, interactional)
• Context (embedded, reduced)
• Genre (instructive, narrative, descriptive, persuasive, informative, expository)

Text form is the representation of text types.

Communicative Competences (M&S)

• Grammatical: Lexical