What Is the Difference between Electronic and

Electrical Devices?
By Doug Lowe from Electronics All-in-One For Dummies
When the field of electronics was invented in 1883, electrical devices had already been around for at least 100 years. For example
!he first electric batteries were invented by a fellow named "lessandro #olta in 1800. #olta$s contribution is so important that the common volt is
named for him. %!here is some archeolo&ical evidence that the ancient 'arthian (mpire may have invented the electric battery in the second century
B), but if so we don$t *now what they used their batteries for, and their invention was for&otten for +,000 years.,
!he electric tele&raph was invented in the 1830s and populari-ed in "merica by .amuel /orse, who invented the famous /orse code used to
encode the alphabet and numerals into a series of short and lon& clic*s that could be transmitted via tele&raph. 0n 1811, a tele&raph cable was laid
across the "tlantic 2cean allowin& instantaneous communication between the 3nited .tates and (urope.
"ll of these devices, and many other common devices still in use today, such as li&ht bulbs, vacuum cleaners, and toasters, are *nown as electrical devices.
.o what exactly is the difference between electrical devices and electronic devices4
!he answer lies in how devices manipulate electricity to do their wor*. (lectrical devices ta*e the ener&y of electric current and transform it in simple ways
into some other form of ener&y 5 most li*ely li&ht, heat, or motion. !he heatin& elements in a toaster turn electrical ener&y into heat so you can burn your
toast. "nd the motor in your vacuum cleaner turns electrical ener&y into motion that drives a pump that suc*s the burnt toast crumbs out of your carpet.
0n contrast, electronic devices do much more. 0nstead of 6ust convertin& electrical ener&y into heat, li&ht, or motion, electronic devices are desi&ned to
manipulate the electrical current itself to coax it into doin& interestin& and useful thin&s.
!hat very first electronic device invented in 1883 by !homas (dison manipulated the electric current passin& throu&h a li&ht bulb in a way that let (dison
create a device that could monitor the volta&e bein& provided to an electrical circuit and automatically increase or decrease the volta&e if it became too low
or too hi&h.
2ne of the most common thin&s that electronic devices do is manipulate electric current in a way that adds meanin&ful information to the current. For
example, audio electronic devices add sound information to an electric current so that you can listen to music or tal* on a cellphone. "nd video devices add
ima&es to an electric current so you can watch &reat movies until you *now every line by heart.
7eep in mind that the distinction between electric and electronic devices is a bit blurry. What used to be simple electrical devices now often include some
electronic components in them. For example, your toaster may contain an electronic thermostat that attempts to *eep the heat at 6ust the ri&ht temperature to
ma*e perfect toast.
"nd even the most complicated electronic devices have simple electrical components in them. For example, althou&h your !# set8s remote control is a pretty
complicated little electronic device, it contains batteries, which are simple electrical devices.