Bench Talk

Star Trek's transporters. Star Wars’ death ray. The Jetsons’ flying car. Back to the Future's time machine. Stargate’s (and many other) cloaking devices. Science Fiction has a myriad of cool gadgets and gizmos. So my question to 2014 is: Why did I end up with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's appliances?

It’s Engineer’s Week, and outside of celebrating by reading Col. Chris Hadfield’s new book, “An Astronaut’s Guide To Life On Earth”, I’m also doing some volunteer work, representing Mouser Electronics at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. We have both a display, showing kids various functioning LEDs, chips, speakers and a nifty little robot built from a Parallax kit, and a hands-on table showing young kids how to build their own homopolar motor. This fascination with how things work and being able to build it yourself is a common trait I’ve seen in engineers of all ages.

I don’t know why, but certain stuff really gets us going. Sometimes you look at something, and you just have to have it. Here’s a couple of things for your favorite nerd/geek/engineer/maker friend...

As a mom and an engineer, I am constantly on the lookout for ways to feed the insatiable curiosity of my kids in constructive ways. A friend of mine had a kid that would take apart clocks and toilet innards when he was five; my kids are not as brilliant or driven, but they are bright enough, and they like to tinker with things. I have found some interesting projects online for kids using the Arduino Uno R3.

I have long wondered how I would respond to being knocked out and having some of my body parts forcibly taken from me. The recent necessity of needing my wisdom teeth removed gave me the perfect opportunity to find out.

How many times have I heard that line? In future I’ll discuss the different classes of clients that circuit protection device manufacturers serve. But right now I’d like to offer up a real-world example of an application that most folks would never dream would benefit from circuit protection: Solar-powered walkway LED lights.

I am looking forward to sharing useful information with the power electronics community in short, uncomplicated blogs. There are lots of great power devices whether new and state of the art or tried and true -- to bring to your attention. I will also provide updates on emerging technologies that either enable advancements in power electronics such as wide bandgap semiconductors, or are enabled by new power electronics, such as wireless charging systems. As new resources become available, I want to highlight where to find them. I might also write about some of the great ways to connect with others for help with your power management questions or to network with like-minded folks. I also want to give you a heads-up on important industry events, such as the Applied Power Electronics Consortium (APEC).

One of the most fascinating developments to me is open source. The internet is the ultimate in open source. Everyone considers the internet to be “free,” but the cost is borne by every server that is connected to the internet, and open source is like that. A few make it possible for the unknown many.

Gallium nitride (GaN) has evolved from a promising laboratory curiosity to a major force in RF power generation in less than a decade. Much has been made of its inherent advantages, leading to projections that it will displace gallium arsenide and silicon LDMOS. However, for a variety of reasons GaN is more likely to complement its more entrenched rivals than displace them.

In this first post, I would like to talk a bit about the need for circuit protection in general. My view is that electronic devices should all have immunity to common surge events. That is to say, electronic devices should never fail due to ordinary and foreseeable electrical disturbances – be they ESD, induced lightning surges or incidental contact with AC power lines.