Electrical engineering is a subfield of engineering that pertains to matters of electricity and electronics. Electrical engineers often work in the development, implementation and maintenance of power generation and control systems; telecommunications and signal processing are also closely connected to the field.
Computer Aided Design
Many electrical engineers do their work with the aid of RF microwave CAE CAD, a computer-aided design protocol used for testing and modeling radio frequency and microwave devices. RF microwave technology is used extensively in the design of electrical circuits, microwave technology and in signal processing.
Subfields of Electrical Engineering
It’s important to note that electronic engineering is not the same as electrical engineering, although the two are related, with electronics considered a subset of electrical engineering. Other subfields of electrical engineering include microelectrics, power engineering, computer science (also called computer engineering), instrumentation engineering and control engineering.
Microelectrical Engineering
Microelectrical engineering deals with the invention, design and use of tiny electrical circuits and other components for use in computers, medical equipment, advanced weapons systems and other applications. Many microelectrical components are so miniscule that they must be chemically created to produce the desired electrical behavior because they are too small to be constructed or built in the mechanical sense.
Power Engineering
Power engineering deals with the generation, transport and conduction of electrical power for residential and commercial use. Power engineers develop power generators, power lines, electric motors and other high-voltage equipment; they also work to increase the stability and capacity of power grids to prevent blackouts and other power losses.
Control Engineering
Control engineers design tactical control systems that facilitate the operation of vehicles, machines and other equipment. Control engineering is vital to aerospace industries, including the military, commercial aviation firms and NASA. Control engineers also design control mechanisms for cruise liners, aircraft carriers, cargo ships and other huge seafaring vehicles.
Instrumentation Engineering
Instrumentation engineering is closely related to control engineering; experts in this field design devices that measure and report physical conditions that are vital to the safe operation of aircraft, ocean vessels, automobiles, and other craft. For example, instrumentation engineers continually strive to improve the accuracy of the instruments used in airplane cockpits; these measure airspeed, barometric pressure, temperature and other forces that must be correctly analysed to ensure safe flight.
Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering
Computer science, sometimes known as computer engineering, is a broad subfield of electrical engineering that involves the design of computers and networks. In many areas the terms “computer science” and “computer engineering” are used interchangeably; however, the two are technically different. Computer science places an emphasis on theory, while the focus of computer engineering is on the computer architecture itself, and on the application of theories to the physical realities of real-world situations.
Related Fields
There are many other fields that, while closely related to electrical engineering, are not truly sub-fields of it. One of the most notable is biomedical engineering, which is concerned with the design and structure of medical equipment such as artificial organs, pacemakers and diagnostic equipment. Mechatronics, which involves the interactions between electrical and mechanical systems, is another “sister field” with close ties to electrical engineering.