What an awesome book! A rare breed of technical content that is appreciable by experts and novices alike."

Eric Schlaepfer was trying to fix a broken piece of test equipment when he came across the cause of the problem—a troubled tantalum capacitor. The component had somehow shorted out, and he wanted to know why. So he polished it down for a look inside. He never found the source of the short, but he and his collaborator, Windell H. Oskay, discovered something even better: a breathtaking hidden world inside electronics. What followed were hours and hours of polishing, cleaning, and photography that resulted in Open Circuits: The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components (No Starch Press, 2022), an excerpt of which follows. As the authors write, everything about these components is deliberately designed to meet specific technical needs, but that design leads to “accidental beauty: the emergent aesthetics of things you were never expected to see.” The only downside to this book is the omission of mechanical keyboards, which is a missed opportunity for those (like me) who are interested in learning about the inner workings of these devices - specifically I would have loved to see a switch cross-section. Design Bridge and Partners shoots for the stars in new identity for The Archer School for Girls Read More

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This is a visually stunning and highly informative book on the inner workings of electronic components. However, despite this oversight, I mark this book as highly recommended and a resource for anyone interested in the inner beauty of electronic components. This book made me fall in love with electronics all over again . . . Part history book, part coffee-table book, and part journey into the inner lives of the electronics, [ Open Circuits] is a fascinating journey through the history of electronics.” This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in electronics, computer technology, or circuits. This is the coolest book I’ve seen in years. Fascinating look inside hundreds of circuits, switches, and mechanical electronic devices that I’ve never seen before.”

From the renowned biochemist and author of The Vital Question, an illuminating inquiry into the Krebs cycle and the origins of life. Whether you're a builder or user of electronics, the cross-section images and detailed information on modern and legacy components will give you a new appreciation for the inner workings of these devices. Here ends our selection of free Electrical Circuits books in PDF format. We hope you liked it and already have your next book! One of the standout features of this book is the quality of the photography, which showcases the beauty and inner workings of electronic components with incredible detail and clarity. Aside from the impressive precision of these components (though there are exceptions, a particularly poorly made coax cable is roasted by the authors) the photography is really notable for bringing out glorious color in these components - sometimes included for manufacturing reasons, sometimes an artifact of the materials themselves - but normally not seen by human eyes at all, safely enclosed in plastic, ceramic, or metal boxes.

A lovely book about electrical and electronic components that will delight those who have ever wondered what the insides of them look like. Lots of photographs showing the details of the components can be found in the book, along with descriptions of what they are made out of. Inductors typically consist of a coil of insulated wire wrapped around a core of magnetic material like iron or ferrite, a ceramic filled with iron oxide. Current flowing around the core produces a magnetic field that acts as a sort of flywheel for current, smoothing out changes in the current as it flows through the inductor. There are a lot of explanations of inner mechanics of elements i used, but never fully understood the exact principles of their work. Inductors are fundamental electronic components that store energy in the form of a magnetic field. They’re used, for example, in some types of power supplies to convert between voltages by alternately storing and releasing energy. This energy-efficient design helps maximize the battery life of cellphones and other portable electronics. Stunningly beautiful . . . While the component images stand alone as works of art, authors Schlaepfer and Oskay pair the pictures with clear and informative text that adds to the reader's knowledge of the circuitry they are looking at. This book is sure to be a staple in many makers, educators, and engineers libraries."

A brilliant new theory of the mind that upends our understanding of how the brain interacts with the world I thought this would be "just a picture book", not that that would be bad, But I want to contrast that then with what is actually in this book. All the gorgeous photos of cut and deconstructed components are accompanied by a few concise paragraphs explaining what they are, how they work, and often why they may be the way they are. If you found this list useful, do not forget to share it on your social networks. Remember that “Sharing is Caring”. As you'd expect from such a forensic photographic collection, taking the images was no easy feat. Electronics can be risky to work with at the best of times, and when you start cutting them up and poking around, this danger is only multiplied.

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Overall, highly recommended if anything about this book piques your interest even the slightest bit. Although everything was beautiful and more interesting than I expected, my favorite chapter was probably the electromechanics one. My inner child appreciated the peek inside various switches, learning how they work, and why they feel so satisfying to flip. Still, every chapter had something I enjoyed, and I definitely have a new appreciation for my smartphone.