General > General Technical Chat
Spintronics - Learning electronics with mechanics?
(1/7) > >>
EEVblog:
This is kinda cool, but I'm not sure how effective it's going to be to learn or spark interest in electronics?  :-//
Same company who made the Turing Tumble.

https://upperstory.com/spintronics

https://upperstory.com/spintronics/assets/circuit-write-in-video-2-1mpbs.mp4
Brumby:
Intriguing.

Somebody has put a lot of effort into developing a practical implementation of an electronics analogy.


--- Quote from: EEVblog on August 07, 2022, 11:33:02 am ---This is kinda cool, but I'm not sure how effective it's going to be to learn or spark interest in electronics?  :-//

--- End quote ---
I agree.
abquke:
PlainName:

--- Quote ---I'm not sure how effective it's going to be to learn or spark interest in electronics?
--- End quote ---

This is my second run-in with electronics. The first, when I was at school, I hated because I couldn't see how things worked. With mechanical stuff it's obvious, but with electronics you have to pretend stuff and it made no sense to me. Hence I became a mechanic (amongst other stuff). It was only much later with a proper education in electronics that I understood it and liked it.

This very cool kit might be the stepping stone from the easily understood mechanical toy to the pretty abstract electronic circuits. I could see some interesting circuit being put together and then translated to a real circuit to show how much easier and simpler it is to solder stuff than machine parts :)
ebastler:

--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on August 07, 2022, 04:24:32 pm ---This is my second run-in with electronics. The first, when I was at school, I hated because I couldn't see how things worked. With mechanical stuff it's obvious, but with electronics you have to pretend stuff and it made no sense to me.

--- End quote ---

I can relate to that. Did not enjoy the electronics kits I had as a kid, since I could not see what was going on inside. What eventually fixed that for me was the oscilloscope, which I only got introduced to in some freshman physics labs at uni.

So I see the value of "tangible" models, which are more affordable and more basic than a scope. But the Spintronics mechanical gears and chains don't do the trick for me -- they seem forced as a model and not intuitive at all. Deep in "Armadillo" territory, as nicely illustrated by abquke.  ::)

The "water pipe" analogy works much better for me. Direct equivalents of current (flow rate), voltage (pressure), resistors (pipe cross section), capacitors (flexible balloons), Kirchhoff's laws etc.. I never physically built such a system -- although it seems quite straightforward -- but find the analogy most helpful to illustrate many basic concepts in electronic circuits.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod