Instructor: Keith Bonin
Office: Olin 310; x4962
Email: bonin@wfu.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Office Hours: Open door policy (if my door is open, I'm available). To meet at a specific time, see me after class or email me to make an appointment. I enjoy meeting with students to discuss my favorite interest - physics!
Course Philosophy: This is a course on analog and digital electronics. The first half of the semester will be focused on analog circuits and the second half on digital circuts. You should learn the main concepts behind the fundamental circuits found in nearly all electronic instruments. Examples are the behavior of passive Ohmic elements, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, in cirucits (voltage dividers, filters) and passive non-Ohmic components like diodes and transistors in circuits (amplifiers, rectifiers, etc). Much time will be spent understanding and applying the basic building blocks of more advanced circuits based on operational amplifiers or op-amps. We will discuss monostable multivibrators, logic circuitry, phase-locked loops, data buses, and microcomputers. In lab you will become proficient in using breadboards, oscilloscopes, logic probes, and function generators to analyze the ac response and digital desgin of circuits. In addition, you will gain a mastery of the circuit-design software package called Circuitmaker. This package will enable you to design and test circuits before building them in the lab.
Texts: The course text is The Art of Electronics, 2nd ed. by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill (Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989). This is a well-written book, that is recognized as a masterpiece for its accessible style, lucid explanations, and its constant focus on quickly getting to the point. A very useful aid is the accompanying student manual entitled Student Manual for The Art of Electronics by Thomas Hayes and Paul Horowitz (Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989). This companion book has extensive notes and worked examples on the key concepts covered in each of the chapters. It also has a nice set of labs that directly relate to the concepts presented in each chapter. This is an extremely useful book, and if you are serious about electronics you will find this of great value.
Lectures: Monday and Wednesday, 9:00-9:50 AM in Olin 103.
Labs: Wednesday, 3:00-5:00 PM in Olin 211.
Homework: Problems will be assigned weekly. In some cases, the homework is graded by an assistant instructor from a solution set that I prepare. Solution sets will be available on my web page. You can look at the solution sets for detailed explanations of each problem. No late homework is accepted since the solutions are posted after the due date of the homework.
Keeping up with the assignments is imperative. It helps you to discover gaps in your understanding of the material, reenforces your grasp of the important concepts, helps you to apply your newfound knowledge to physical problems, prepares you for the tests, and it is worth 33% of your final grade in the course. I encourage you to work with other students on the problem sets when necessary. Solo problem solving is important, but there is much to be learned from others as well - the key is to learn as much physics as you can in the time you have. Some guidelines on working with others is important: you must try to work the problem on your own first; you can verbally discuss techniques and methods to solve a problem with others, but you cannot directly copy the final (or close to final) version of another student's solution.
Grades:
Reserve Book List (Alphabetical Order):
Pandemic Plan:
In the case of a serious interruption in the normal conduct of university affairs, we will continue the course by email, internet communication, or regular mail. You will receive lecture notes, and reading and problem assignments either via email, by web download, or by a physical CD mailed to you. Obviously, all tests would then be take-home tests. Your responses to homework assignments and tests could be by email or regular mail. The labs would have to be solely done using Circuitmaker.
Tentative Course Topic Schedule
Tentative Lab Calendar
Jan 13 - Lab 0 - CircuitMaker
Jan. 20 - Lab 1 - AC circuits/Filters
Jan. 27 - Lab 2 - Introduction to Electronics
Feb. 3 - Lab 3 - Voltage Dividers
Feb. 10 - Lab 4 - Diodes
Feb. 17 - Lab 5 - Transistors I
Feb. 24 - Lab 6 - Transistors II
March 3 - Test 1
March 10 - Break
March 17 - Lecture
March 24 - Lab 7 - Op-Amps I
March 31 - Lab 8 - Op-Amps II
April 7 - Lab 9 - Introduction to Logic Gates
April 14 - Lab 10 - Ripple and Synchronous Counters
April 21 - Lab 11 - Jeopardy Circuit
April 28 - Lab 12 - Wheel of Fortune Circuit/ Soldering
May 3 - Monday, Test 2 (9 AM)