Funny question from youngster

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by Carmine

I sure hope he isn't top of the class.

Double E education tends to be very heavy on math (calculus) and basic theory, and things like analog NTSC television would not be mentioned. Things like circuit analysis, with Bode plots, poles and zeros, Laplace and Fourier transforms, semiconductor physics, and lately digital signal processing. Nothing really "practical". So he could be at the top of his class. Straight A's but not know which end of a soldering iron to grab...

Oh, vacuum tubes were briefly mentioned in my semiconductor physics class, as the prof described the energy levels (essentially voltage) of electrons as they go past the various grids. Then the prof says "lets fill in the vacuum with silicon atoms, with a few other atoms to either give extra electrons or holes (missing electrons)"...

I had to take 5 semesters of calculus in EE, and had to know how to integrate strange stuff like csc x^4/((tan^3)-1) dx. I could solve exam problems like that well enough to pass, but I never did figure out how to actually apply calculus to a real world problem and have any confidence that I didn't screw it up...