On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 03:27:05 -0500,
Can anyone tell me if I should start studying on BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
ELECTRICITY or jump to VOLTAGE, CURRENT, POWER, ENERGY?
Or the voltage, current, power, and energy a part of the Basic
Principles of Electricity?
Need a reply ASAP...... I'm doing a self-study at home since I can't
go to school yet due to financial problems..... :cry:
The best way to start learning this stuff is to do it in a methodical,
organized way, not haphazardly finding material that you think will
help you learn. The best way to do this on the cheap is to go to a
local community college's book store and find a book on
electricity/electronics basics. This will only cost you the price of
the book. Some bookstores have used books available at a lower price.
Find a book with DC or with DC & AC in the title. It will likely have
the word Fundamentals in the title also. Look for a book of this
nature.
Browse through the book. Review its table of contents. A good basic
textbook will take you through the structure of the atom, the concepts
of force, work, energy, and power. It will talk about temperature and
heat, and basic electrical units. From there it will expand into
discussions of current, voltage, and resistance. Finally, it will
expand into general information/knowledge about basic circuits. If the
book covers AC as well as DC, many of the concepts I've mentioned will
be expanded upon as the book expands into AC. AC works in very similar
ways to DC but you need to understand DC first.
The strength of a GOOD basic textbook is that it presents all of the
material you will need in an order that makes logical sense. You will
learn what you need to know as it takes you from the most fundamental
concepts of physics and electricity into a real understanding of how
electricity and electric circuits work. This way you generally won't
encounter a new concept until the preceding material prepares you for
that concept--so you won't be unnecessarily discouraged by trying to
learn something that it beyond your skills.
I know it's summer so things at community college book stores might be
slow, and the shelves at the book stores might be somewhat depleted.
Research all the community colleges in your general area and visit all
of them. Also, community colleges vary from place to place, so one
might have a very strong electrical/electronics curriculum and another
might not. Try your best to judge the book store and the books that
you browse through.
And this final word: Most of the words and concepts that you learn in
this field of study will be new to you. Learning a new vocabulary, new
concepts, and applying them all at the same time can be a tough
challenge. Stay with it even if you get discouraged. If you get
stumped while you're doing your self-study, come to this newsgroup and
ask intelligent questions that show you're really trying to learn;
people here will jump at the chance to help you. I think you will one
day say to yourself, "Hey, I'm really beginning to understand this
stuff!" It will happen. Hang in there!
Gool luck.
