Page 6 - Electrical Engineering Dictionary

Foreword

How was the dictionary constructed?

As I knew this project would require a divide-and-conquer approach with fault-
tolerance, I sought to partition the dictionary by defining areas that covered all aspects
of Electrical Engineering. I then matched these up to IEEE defined interest areas to
ensure that complete coverage was provided. This created a great deal of overlap,
which was intentional. I knew that terms needed to be defined several different ways,
depending on usage and I needed to ensure that every term would be defined at least
once.
The mapping of the Dictionary’s areas to the IEEE interest areas are as follows:

Power systems Circuits and systems
• Power Engineering • Circuits and Systems
• Power Electronics • Instruments and Measurements
Electric motors and machines Control systems
• Power Engineering • Control Systems
• Power Electronics • Robotics and Automation
Digital electronics, VLSI, hardware Electromagnetics
description language • Electromagnetic Compatibility
• Consumer Electronics • Magnetics
• Electronic Devices
• Industrial Electronics
• Instruments and Measurements Computer engineering (processors)
• Computer
Microelectronics and solid state devices
• Industrial Electronics Computer engineering (I/O and storage)
• Instruments and Measurements • Computer
RF, radio, and television Microwave systems
• Broadcast Technology • Antennas and Propagation
• Microwave Theory and Techniques
Communications and information processing
• Communications Electro-optical and lightwave systems
• Information Theory • Lasers and Electro-Optics
• Systems, Man, and Cybernetics
• Reliability Illumination
Signal and image processing Properties of materials
• Signal Processing • Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
• Systems, Man, and Cybernetics
Packaging
• Components, Packaging, and
• Manufacturing Technology
Note that Software Engineering was not included as an area, and most software
terms have been omitted. Those that were included were done so because they relate
to some aspect of assembly language programming or low-level control, or artificial
intelligence and robotics. For those interested in software engineering terms, CRC’s

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