Search RFCafe.com                           
      More Than 17,000 Unique Pages
Please support me by ADVERTISING!
Serving a Pleasant Blend of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow™ Please Support My Advertisers!
   Formulas & Data
Electronics | RF
Mathematics
Mechanics | Physics
     AI-Generated
     Technical Data
Pioneers | Society
Companies | Parts
Principles | Assns


 About | Sitemap
Homepage Archive
        Resources
Articles, Forums Calculators, Radar
Magazines, Museum
Radio Service Data
Software, Videos
     Entertainment
Crosswords, Humor Cogitations, Podcast
Quotes, Quizzes
   Parts & Services
1000s of Listings
 Vintage Magazines
Electronics World
Popular Electronics
Radio & TV News
QST | Pop Science
Popular Mechanics
Radio-Craft
Radio-Electronics
Short Wave Craft
Electronics | OFA
Saturday Eve Post

Software: RF Cascade Workbook
RF Stencils Visio | RF Symbols Visio
RF Symbols Office | Cafe Press
Espresso Engineering Workbook

Aegis Power  |  Alliance Test
Centric RF  |  Empower RF
ISOTEC  |  Reactel  |  RFCT
San Fran Circuits

Exodus Advanced Communications Best in Class RF Amplifier SSPAs

Innovative Power Products Cool Chip Thermal Dissipation - RF Cafe

Anatech Electronics RF Microwave Filters - RF Cafe

Please Support RF Cafe by purchasing my  ridiculously low-priced products, all of which I created.

RF Cascade Workbook for Excel

RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF Workbench

T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads

These Are Available for Free

Espresso Engineering Workbook™

Smith Chart™ for Excel

Amplifier Solutions Corporation (ASC) - RF Cafe

Electronic Analogy Quiz
August 1960 Popular Electronics

August 1960 Popular Electronics

August 1960 Popular Electronics Cover - RF CafeTable of Contents

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Popular Electronics, published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

This electronics analogy quiz is a little easier than many of the others created by Robert Balin and published in Popular Electronics magazine because all of the electrical and mechanical objects depicted here are very familiar. The concepts might seem trivial to those of us who have been immersed in the science for decades, but I for one can remember when first hearing these analogies how helpful they were. Not only that, but I also recall during physics and mechanics courses in college being amazed at the similarity of equations shared by electrical and mechanical processes. Wikipedia has a huge page describing many of the most familiar mechanical-electrical analogies.

Electronic Analogy Quiz

Electronic Analogy Quiz, August 1960 Popular Electronics - RF CafeBy Robert P. Balin

Analogies - or comparisons - between electrical and mechanical phenomena are widely used to explain many electronic principles. See if you can match the lettered objects to the numbered symbols in the boxes below. The correct match in each case, and a complete explanation of the principles involved, will be found at the bottom of the page.

 


Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular Electronics, Electronics-World, QST, Radio-Electronics, and Radio News were published over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing of all I have posted thus far.

RF Cafe Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

 

Analogy Quiz Answers

I. G. Because of its magnetic field, an inductor has the ability to resist any change in the amount or direction of the current flowing through it - we call this property "electrical inertia." A heavy grinding wheel, because of its mass, has mechanical inertia and tends to resist any change in its speed or direction of rotation.

2. D. A rectifier in an electrical circuit permits electron flow in only one direction. A ratchet wheel and check pawl likewise permit rotation in only one direction.

3. C. A capacitor stores electrical energy in its dielectric when it is charged, and the energy is recovered when you provide a discharge path for it. The coil spring in a jack-in-the-box stores mechanical energy in its stressed turns when the spring is compressed; this energy is recovered when you open the box.

4. H. A fuse element can carry little more than the normal current for its circuit; when an overload occurs, it is the first thing to burn in two and thereby open the circuit. The fuse may be compared, then, to the weakest link in a chain.

5. B. A resonant circuit will oscillate at a frequency determined by the inductance and capacitance present. A tuning fork oscillates as well, but at a frequency determined by its mechanical construction.

6. A. A transformer takes electrical energy supplied to its primary winding as a large current at low voltage and provides us with virtually the same amount of energy delivered as a small current at high voltage from its secondary winding. A gear train receives mechanical energy at high speed and low torque and converts it for use by a device requiring the same amount of power supplied at low speed and high torque.

7. E. An open switch stops electron flow in the same manner as a closed faucet stops the flow of water.

8. F. A resistor limits the current in a circuit, but converts some of the electrical energy into heat while doing so. The brake shoe on the wagon wheel limits the speed of its rotation, and changes some of the mechanical energy into heat.

 

 

Posted June 5, 2024
(updated from original post on 11/18/2013)

Amplifier Solutions Corporation (ASC) - RF Cafe
ConductRF Phased Matched RF Cables - RF Cafe

RF Cascade Workbook 2018 by RF Cafe