Relationship of electricity with the hardware

[dothackjhe]

This question is purely academic on my part and have been a question to me since I still lack the formal education about it. So, to anyone who could please explain to me in lay or professional terms (I'll try to manage), what is the relationship of electricity (and which type) to the hardware in both electronics and computer terms (if they vary, that is) to making things work in those machines like how relative is an electric flow to a running computer or a running program in it?

 

[KimJong]

Electwick......It make the electwonocic stuff work!!!!

 

[dothackjhe]

Electwick......It make the electwonocic stuff work!!!!

Rest assured, the idea is not for nukes nor any similar toys, lol. Hence my statement on the starting post.

 

[bassfisher6522]

Electwick......It make the electwonocic stuff work!!!!

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Electwick......It make the electwonocic stuff work!!!!

 

[logicearth]

Head here: EEVblog fantastic forums and the video host is quite entertaining.

 

[dothackjhe]

Head here: EEVblog fantastic forums and the video host is quite entertaining.

This doesn't necessarily answer the question, thank you. :trolled:

 

[logicearth]

I assumed you were asking a serious question and wanted a serious answer...oh well. Forget I said anything.

 

[dothackjhe]

It just came as a random question all of a sudden, lol.

 

[alphanumeric]

You need to be more specific about what you want to know. In simple terms there is Voltage, Current and Resistance. Google "Ohms Law". P = I x E. Power in Watts, equals the Current in Amps, multiplied by the Voltage in Volts. You can think of power as the potential to do work. The two very basic types of voltage are AC, alternating current, and DC, direct current. My AC wall outlets supply 120Volts AC at 60 hertz. The polarity of the voltage measured across the outlet reverses polarity 60 times a second. A simple incandescent lamp can run directly off of the AC voltage. Most electronic devices like a PC can't. They use DC. Direct current has a dedicated positive and negative terminal, a fixed polarity. One terminal will be positive and one negative. The power supply in the PC converts the AC to DC. The voltage is stepped down (reduced) to what the various computer parts need. The PC power supply supplies several different voltages.

 

[Layback Bear]

If your trolling troll Google.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Part of the difficulty in answering your question is the question itself. Normally I would look in a dictionary to see if I could figure out how to apply the word "relationship" to electricity and hardware - but doing so did not help me. Looking at Wiki did not help either Relationship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So - I don't know what you are asking. That said, there are plenty of topics where I would not know enough to ask a even question correctly... so I don't fault you for the way you asked your question. I mention all of the above to explain that the info below might not be anything like what you wanted to know.

Most homes and offices use alternating current (AC) - which means that the voltage goes positive and negative at different times (hopefully, in a sinusoidal pattern

Most vehicles use direct current (DC) e.g. the voltage does not vary intentionally (it will vary with loading like when you start the motor).

A lamp that makes use of AC is an example of "hardware" in your question. You do not have to do much to the electricity in order to make use of it in a light bulb... probably just a switch is needed to turn on the lamp. A flashlight (torch) that makes use of DC is an example of hardware that usually just needs a switch to turn it on.

"Electronics" is not a well defined term. Different people would consider different items as electronic... but as far as power goes, generally speaking, whatever power (DC or AC) is being supplied to an electronic item, that power will probably be converted or changed in some way to meet the needs of the various parts (chips) inside the electronic item. For example, the radio in a vehicle might be supplied from a 12 or 6 volts DC - but some of the chips inside of the radio need 3.3 volts - other chips need 5 volts and still other parts need 12 volts. So there are chips that provide power management to supply all of those various voltages.

If the radio in question is plugged into an AC supply - then there are chips that convert the AC into DC and much of the same chips that provide power management to supply all of those various voltages are still present in those types of radios.

As far as how computers "relate" to electricity - see if this link tells you what you want:
HowStuffWorks "How PC Power Supplies Work"

 

[rraod]

Electricity is like life blood for the electronics. Without electricity no electronic device or computer will work.

Smaller devices need small amount of electricity and larger devices need very high currents. I read on net that one of the early computers when switched on and working, dimmed the lights of a city in US!!!

But today's electronic devices (like wristwatches) consume less than few micro amperes current. That is why with such a small battery the size of a medicinal tablet, the wristwatch works continuously for more than 2-3 years.

All the electronic devices and computers work with direct current (DC) only. The direct currrent is converted to electronic pulses by the clock in electronic devices/computers and it is these pulses (on and off of the electron flow) that flow through the devices giving you the feel of the computers.

By the way our household electricity is in the form of alternating current (AC) (like the waves on water) and the power supply in the computers/electronic devices converts the AC in to DC so that these devices can use this DC current to power them.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Electricity is like life blood for the electronics. Without electricity no electronic device or computer will work....

I thought smoke was the life blood for electronics - 'cuz when you let all of the smoke out, stuff usually stops working

...sorry - just had to go there...

 

[alphanumeric]

lol, thats an old one but I still chuckle when I hear it.

 

[dothackjhe]

Sorry my question came out short and had to restate it. It's fixed now.

 

[alphanumeric]

There is no simple answer to what you're asking. An electronic device consumes energy to produce work. That energy is provided by the electricity supplied to the device. What voltage a device wants or needs is determined by what it does and how its built. Devices used in your home are designed to use the AC prower your power utility provides. For me here in Canada thats 120 volts AC 60 Hz. If I buy something for my car its going to use 12 Volts DC, because thats what the car is designed around.

 

[dothackjhe]

Yeah, apparently my question is a little broad in itself which can't be easily explained in simple terms lest I, on my part, have the fundamental knowledge of circuits, switches, and stuff. I appreciate some of the decent answers posted so far though.