electrical and electronics engineeringthe branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of the field of electronics. Electronics engineering is that branch of electrical engineering concerned with the uses of the electromagnetic spectrum and with the application of such electronic devices as integrated circuits, transistors, and vacuum tubes.

In engineering practice, the distinction between electrical engineering and electronics is based on the comparative strength of the electric currents used. In this sense, electrical engineering is the branch dealing with “heavy current”—that is, electric light and power systems and apparatuses—whereas electronics engineering deals with such “light current” applications as wire and radio communication, the stored-program electronic computer, radar, and automatic control systems.

The distinction between the fields has become less sharp with technical progress. For example, in the high-voltage transmission of electric power, large arrays of electronic devices are used to convert transmission-line current at power levels in the tens of megawatts. Moreover, in the regulation and control of interconnected power systems, electronic computers are used to compute requirements much more rapidly and accurately than is possible by manual methods.


Electrical phenomena attracted the attention of European thinkers as early as the 17th century. Beginning as a mathematically oriented science, the field has remained primarily in that form; mathematical predication often precedes laboratory demonstration. The most noteworthy pioneers include Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert and Georg Simon Ohm of Germany, Hans Christian Ørsted of Denmark, André-Marie Ampère of France, Alessandro Volta of Italy, Joseph Henry of the United States, and Michael Faraday of England. Electrical engineering may be said to have emerged as a discipline in 1864 when the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell summarized the basic laws of electricity in mathematical form and predicted that radiation of electromagnetic energy would occur in a form that later became known as radio waves. In 1887 the German physicist Heinrich Hertz experimentally demonstrated the existence of radio waves.

The first practical application of electricity was the telegraph, invented by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1837. The need for electrical engineers was not felt until some 40 years later, upon the invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell and of the incandescent lamp (1878) by Thomas A. Edison. These devices and Edison’s first central generating plant in New York City (1882) created a large demand for men trained to work with electricity.

The discovery of the “Edison effect,” a flow of current through the vacuum of one of his lamps, was the first observation of current in space. Hendrick Antoon Lorentz of The the Netherlands predicted the electron theory of electrical charge in 1895, and in 1897 J.J. Thomson of England showed that the Edison effect current was indeed caused by negatively charged particles (electrons). This led to the work of Guglielmo Marconi of Italy, Lee De Forest of the United States, and many others, which laid the foundations of radio engineering. In 1930 the term electronics was introduced to embrace radio and the industrial applications of electron tubes. Since 1947, when the transistor was invented by John Bardeen, William H. Brattain, and William B. Shockley, electronics engineering has been dominated by the applications of such solid-state electronic devices as the transistor, the semiconductor diode, and the integrated circuit.

Electrical and electronics engineering functions

The functions performed by electrical and electronics engineers include (1) basic research in physics, other sciences, and applied mathematics in order to extend knowledge applicable to the field of electronics, (2) applied research based on the findings of basic research and directed at discovering new applications and principles of operation, (3) development of new materials, devices, assemblies, and systems suitable for existing or proposed product lines, (4) design of devices, equipment, and systems for manufacture, (5) field-testing of equipment and systems, (6) establishment of quality control standards to be observed in manufacture, (7) supervision of manufacture and production testing, (8) postproduction assessment of performance, maintenance, and repair, and (9) engineering management, or the direction of research, development, engineering, manufacture, and marketing and sales.


The rapid proliferation of new discoveries, products, and markets in the electrical and electronics industries has made it difficult for workers in the field to maintain the range of skills required to manage their activities. Consulting engineers, specializing in new fields, are employed to study and recommend courses of action.

The educational background required for these functions tends to be highest in basic and applied research. In most major laboratories a doctorate in science or engineering is required to fill leadership roles. Most positions in design, product development, and supervision of manufacture and quality control require a master’s degree. In the high-technology industries typical of modern electronics, an engineering background at not less than the bachelor’s level is required to assess competitive factors in sales engineering to guide marketing strategy.

Branches of electrical and electronics engineering

The largest of the specialized branches of electrical engineering, the branch concerned with the electronic computer, was introduced during World War II. The field of computer science and engineering has attracted members of several disciplines outside electronics, notably logicians, linguists, and applied mathematicians.

Another very large field is that concerned with electric light and power and their applications. Specialities within the field include the design, manufacture, and use of turbines, generators, transmission lines, transformers, motors, lighting systems, and appliances.

A third major field is that of communications, which comprises not only telegraphy and telephony but also satellite communications and the transmission of voice and data by laser signals through optical-fibre networks. The communication of digital data among computers connected by wire, microwave, and satellite circuits is now a major enterprise that has built a strong bond between computer and communications specialists.

The applications of electricity and electronics to other fields of science have expanded since World War II. Among the sciences represented are medicine, biology, oceanography, geoscience, nuclear science, laser physics, sonics and ultrasonics, and acoustics. Theoretical specialties within electronics include circuit theory, information theory, radio-wave propagation, and microwave theory.

Another important speciality concerns improvements in materials and components used in electrical and electronics engineering, such as conductive, magnetic, and insulating materials and the semiconductors used in solid-state devices. One of the most active areas is the development of new electronic devices, particularly the integrated circuits used in computers and other digital systems.

The development of electronic systems—equipment for consumers, such as radios, television sets, stereo equipment, video games, and home computers—occupies a large number of engineers. Another field is the application of computers and radio systems to automobiles, ships, and other vehicles. The field of aerospace electronic systems includes navigation aids for aircraft, automatic pilots, altimeters, and radar for traffic control, blind landing, and collision prevention. Many of these devices are also widely used in the marine services.

Works on the history of electrical and electronics engineering include James E. Brittain (ed.), Turning Points in American Electrical History (1977), a collection of writings on the development of electrical engineering and telecommunications in the United States; Abram John Foster, The Coming of the Electrical Age to the United States (1979), a history of electrification; Brian Bowers, A History of Electric Light and Power (1982), concentrating on electrification in Great Britain; E. Antebi, The Electronic Epoch (1982); Ernest Braun and Stuart Macdonald, Revolution in Miniature, 2nd ed. (1982), exploring the impact of semiconductor electronics in industry; Dirk Hanson, The New Alchemists (1982), a historical survey of microelectronics in industry; and H. Freitag, Electrical Engineering: The Second Century Begins (1986). Reference works on electronics engineering include Donald G. Fink and Donald Christiansen (eds.), Electronics Engineers’ Handbook, 3rd ed. (1989); Stan Gibilisco and Neil Sclater (eds.), Encyclopedia of Electronics, 2nd ed. (1990); and C.H. Chen (ed.), Computer Engineering Handbook (1992).