VOL 1

Monthly journal of Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Volume1 January 2005
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

I am happy to know that the electrical engineer’s association of PAACET ”ELECTRA” is celebrating its inaugural function today .These type of associations at a college level improve the dissemination of information among all students irrespective of their specialiasation and help in strengthening their knowledge. A link with industries is essential for the academic growth of the college and personal carrier of the students. This can certainly be achieved by conducting carrier oriented courses, seminars in the upcoming fields and co-ordination with research institutions in the country.
Associations of this kind should strive hard to establish the much needed interface among college, industry, research centers. I trust the association would come up with their own technical journal and conduct seminars on topics of special interest by students and eminent personalities in the field. I wish all the members of the association and the office bearers “ALL THE BEST”
Dr YVKS RAO

SECRETARY’S MESSAGE

It is my proud privilege to be given this opportunity to be at the helm of this association.This journal has been released in association with the inauguration of our association ELECTRA. This journal aims at introducing the latest trends and developments in the field of electrical & electronics which will be of immense help to all budding engineers. I thank all those who have worked behind this to make it a reality. It is only a beginning for ACME. I believe that with all of your help and support we can make ACME a success.
ARUN SEKHAR S

ABOUT ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Electrical engineering is concerned with the development and utilization of electrical and electronic technology for the benefit of society. It involves the design, development, and implementation of devices, circuits, and systems that are used in electrical power generation and distribution, machine control, communications, computers, and computer-based information processing. It is a very broad field that affects all aspects of modern society, particularly in this age of information processing, communications, and automation.
The rapid evolution of electrical and electronic technology creates constant change in this discipline. This, in turn, requires a solid foundation of science and mathematics, combined with fundamental engineering sciences and electrical engineering design skills, to provide the student with ability to professionally develop and adapt during a lifetime career. The engineering core courses and the required electrical engineering courses provide this foundation of knowledge and engineering skills.
Electrical engineering technical electives provide the student an opportunity to achieve a greater breadth of knowledge and some degree of specialization in selected areas of special interest.

SREEJITH J S

A lamp used at the historic 1879 New Year’s Eve demonstration of the Edison
LIGHT & POWER
Flick a switch and a light goes on. Flick it again and off it goes. Pretty simple. But developing a system that makes power so easily accessible took a lot of people a lot of hard work. It was also one of the most important things to take place in the late 19th century. Finding ways to generate and deliver power changed nearly everything about the way we live and work.
Most people think of Thomas Edison as the inventor of the light bulb, but that isn’t exactly true. Incandescent lighting—where an electrical current causes a filament to glow—had already been invented. The problem was that the light lasted only a few minutes because the filaments burned out. Edison found a way around that. In 1879 he came up with a workable filament that allowed light bulbs to burn much longer.
A light bulb with no electrical source wasn’t much good, however. Edison knew that a system of generating and distributing electrical power was needed and he set about creating one. In 1882, Edison opened the Pearl Street station in New York City. It was the world’s first commercial power plant. Although it was an enormous plant for its day, the station at Pearl Street was able to produce and distribute electricity to only one square mile of lower Manhattan.
Although it was successful, Edison’s system had problems and limitations. It used direct current (DC), which was not ideal for delivering electricity over long distances. Alternating current (AC) was better suited to the job. AC allows high voltage current to be transmitted through power lines and lowered before the customer gets it. But Edison was committed to DC.
A replica of Nikola Tesla's 1888 AC motor..
Others, however, were determined to compete with Edison by using AC. AC worked fine with light bulbs, but it was not yet practical for powering electric motors. So the first step was to develop a good AC motor. Finding a way to produce a rotating magnetic field electrically, Nikola Tesla invented a practical AC motor in 1883. Several years later George Westinghouse bought the patents to the Tesla motor and set up an AC power system. For a while, Westinghouse and Edison were in a fierce competition to see whose system would dominate. The winner was clear after a new AC power plant opened at Niagara Falls in 1895 and was used to light up portions of Buffalo, New York. Its successful use in transmitting large amounts of power to distant places was the deciding factor. Today, the whole world continues to use AC.
The generation of large amounts of electricity and the development of reliable delivery systems changed the world. Once electricity was cheap and reliable, other inventions followed. Availability of electricity led to widespread use of electric appliances, some of which we still use today. In 1908 the vacuum cleaner came on the market. Five years later an appropriate motor (one that didn't need lubrication and was small in size) made the electric refrigerator possible. Washing machines and dishwashers soon came on the scene. In 1935 the clothes dryer was invented. Electricity eventually powered radios, televisions, refrigerators, computers, and countless other devices. Electricity was everywhere and it was changing the way people lived.
Today we use electricity for so many things that we take it for granted and often waste it by leaving lights burning in empty rooms or running appliances when it's not necessary. But engineers around the world are always working hard to find new ways to produce and distribute it.

RUFUS JOSHUA VARUGHESE