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About the Author
Stan Gibilisco, an electronics engineer and mathematician, has authored multiple titles for the
McGraw-Hill Demystified and Know-It-All series, along with numerous other technical books and
dozens of magazine articles. His work has been published in several languages.
Contents
Introduction
1 Let’s Start with the Basics
Direct Current
Alternating Current
Electrochemical Cells and Batteries
Power Supplies
Grounding and Glitches
Magnetic Force
Electromagnets
Magnetic Devices
Semiconductors
Vacuum Tubes
Digital Logic
2 Tools and Tests
Your Workbench
Wire Splicing
Cords and Cables
Plugs and Connectors
Meet the Multimeter
Continuity Testing
Measuring DC Resistance
Measuring DC Voltage
Measuring AC Voltage
Measuring Direct Current
Testing Fuses
Incandescent Bulb Saver
3 What Goes Where?
Whence the Juice?
Phasing Schemes
Your Electric Meter
The Perfect Breaker or Fuse Box
Circuit Management
Which Circuit, Which Phase?
Grounded, or Not?
For World Travelers
4 Alternative Electricity
Small Combustion Generators
Residential Solar Power
Residential Wind Power
Residential Hydro Power
Deep-Cycle Batteries
Fuel Cells
5 Electronics in Your Vehicle
The Battery
Jump Starting
Charging a Battery
The Alternator
Lights
Fuses
Two-Way Radios
Hi-Fi Sound Systems
6 Home Entertainment
Making the Good Noise
Making Sound Loud
Getting Sound Out
Television Then and Now
The Lightning Factor
Getting Wise to the Web
7 The Wireless Jungle
Dirty Electricity
Cordless Phones
Cell Phones
Wireless Tablets
The Global Positioning System
Access Control
Intrusion and Fire Detection
Noise, Noise, Noise!
8 What Else Can You Do?
Try CFLs
Install Timers and Actuators
Install a Heat Pump
Build a Wet Cell
See How “Electric” You Are
See How “Resistive” You Are
Try Shortwave Radio
Try Amateur Radio
Get a Personal Robot
Appendix Table of Electricity at Utility Outlets in Various Countries
Glossary
Suggested Additional Reading
Index
Introduction
Have you ever felt lost when choosing a home entertainment system, wondered how to test an
electrical outlet to see if it’s grounded, or puzzled over how to make the Wi-Fi in the front room reach
the back? If so, read on!
Here’s a question that people occasionally ask me, and that baffles me as much as it does them:
“What is electricity, really?” I’ll never forget the day my eighth-grade science teacher showed the
class a celluloid “movie” of a lecture where a professor concluded by saying, “We learn about
electricity not by knowing what it is, but by codifying what it does.” I adopted that attitude as I set out
to write this book as a how-to guide for nontechnical people who want to learn more about home and
automotive electrical and electronic systems, and in particular, what “makes them tick” (or not).
You’ll find out why things sometimes fail, and I’ll offer you some solutions to common problems
(and tips on how to avoid them). You’ll find sidebars to clear up points of confusion and offer targeted
bits of advice. In the last chapter, I’ll suggest some projects for those of you who might like to try out
some “off-the-wall” projects and experiments. In the back of the book, you’ll find a glossary that
defines common terms in easy-to-understand language.
I welcome your suggestions for future editions. Please visit me on the Web at
www.sciencewriter.net.
Stan Gibilisco
CHAPTER 1
Let’s Start with the Basics
Electronic devices and systems have changed people’s lives more in the past century than all prior
inventions and events did, going back to prehistoric times. If you don’t believe me, wait until you
have to live through a long power outage in the wake of a hurricane, earthquake, or wildfire! Sooner or
later you’ll start to wonder if the Stone Age might be about to come back for good. What’s behind all
these marvels that present such a tenuous barrier between comfort and chaos? Let’s find out what
makes them work.
Direct Current
All matter comprises countless tiny particles called atoms. Individual atoms are made up of smaller
particles known as protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Protons and neutrons are smaller than any ordinary microscope can “see,” and they have
phenomenal density. A pebble-sized lump of compacted protons or neutrons would weigh so much
that it would fall through the floors of your house and bore into the earth as if rock were butter.
In an atom, the protons and neutrons always exist in a “clump” called the nucleus. (Hydrogen in its
most abundant form serves as the lone exception; its whole nucleus is only one proton, all alone.)
Electrons are much less dense than protons or neutrons, and they move a lot more. Electrons can
“orbit” around a single nucleus, wander among many different nuclei, or hurtle freely through space.
Did You Know?
Protons and electrons carry equal and opposite electric charge. Scientists consider
protons as electrically positive, and electrons as electrically negative. These charge
polarity definitions came about as a coincidental result of observations made long ago in
simple experiments.
An excess or deficiency of electrons on an object gives that object a static electric charge, also
called an electrostatic charge. If an object contains more total electrons than total protons, then that
object has a net negative charge. If an object contains fewer total electrons than total protons, then
that object has a net positive charge.
When charged particles move, you observe an electric current. Usually the current-carrying
particles, known as charge carriers, are electrons. However, any moving charged object, such as a
proton, an atomic nucleus, or an electrified dust grain, can give rise to an electric current. In direct
current (DC), the charge carriers always travel in the same general direction.
An electrical conductor is a substance in which the electrons can move easily, so you don’t have
any trouble producing an electric current. Silver is the best-known everyday electrical conductor.
Copper and aluminum are also excellent electrical conductors. Iron, steel, and most other metals
