University Teaching and Laboratory Work in Electrical Materials Science: Part I: Description of the Course with Associated Laboratory Experiments

Abstract

The subject matter covered in a modem Degree course in Electrical Engineering bears little resemblance to the material presented in such courses some two decades ago. In part, this can be attributed to the rapid technological developments which occurred as a result of the concentration of effort during the war years. Perhaps of greater importance is the impact which the invention of the transistor in 1948 has had upon our technology. This has been followed by the subsequent development of a wide range of solid-state devices, supplementing and more often replacing thermionic valves in electronic circuitry. Complete integrated solid-state circuits are now manufactured and comparable developments have occurred in the availability and applications of new dielectric and magnetic materials. The highly sophisticated phenomenon of superconductivity is now being applied technologically, even before the subject itself is thoroughly known and understood.