An Electronics Student's Interview

These engineering and science tech-centric jokes, song parodies, anecdotes and assorted humor have been collected from friends and websites across the Internet. I check back occasionally for new fodder, but it seems all the old content is reappearing all over (like this is). The humor is light-hearted and clean and sometimes slightly assaultive to the easily-offended, so you are forewarned. It is all workplace-safe.

Humor #1, #2, #3

This is probably fictitious, but then again, maybe not.

Interviewer: Why is a thicker conductor necessary to carry AC current as compared to DC?

Student: An AC current goes up and down (drawing a sinusoid) and requires more space inside the wire, so the wire has to be thicker.

Interviewer: How will you tell if that wall outlet carries AC or DC?

Student: I will put my finger in. If it is pushed away, it is DC. If it gets stuck, it was AC.

Interviewer: How will you reverse direction of an induction motor?

Student: I will remove the four bolts at the base, turn the motor around, and put back the bolts.

Interviewer: How do you start a synchronous motor?

Student: Vrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (in rising pitch)

Interviewer: Stop! Stop!

Student: rrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (in falling pitch)

Interviewer: How do you limit surge current within an integrated circuit?

Student: By using a miniature circuit breaker.

Interviewer: Why does a capacitor block DC but allow AC to pass through?

Student: See, a capacitor is like this ---| |--- , OK. DC Comes straight, like this ----------, and the capacitor stops it. But AC, goes UP, DOWN, Up DOWN and jumps right over the capacitor!"

Interviewer: "What is a step-up transformer?"

Student: "A transformer that is put on top of electric poles."

Interviewer: "And then what is a step-down transformer?"

(smiling)

Student: "Uh -- A transformer that is put in the basement or in a pit?"

(hesitantly)

Interviewer: "Then what do you call a transformer that is installed on the ground?"

(pouncing)

(Student knows he is caught -- can't answer)

Interviewer: "Well?"

(impatiently)

Student: "A stepless transformer, sir!"

(triumphantly)

---from the Portland Amateur Radio Club website

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RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...