The Art of Electronics

Informally it is called “the bible of electronics”. “The art of electronics” is widely recognized as the authoritative text and reference on electronic circuit design. The book has revolutionized the way of teaching electronics. It is co-authored by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill. Its first edition was released in 1982 while the revised edition came in 1989. The first edition sold over 125,000 copies worldwide and was translated into eight languages.An ideal first textbook and an indispensable reference on electronics for engineers, scientists, professional, amateur, and for all those who works with electronic circuits.With more than 1000 pages, this book covers all the areas of electronic circuit design, both analog and digital, from basic DC voltage, current, and resistance, to active filters and oscillators, to digital electronics, including microprocessors and digital bus interfacing. The book also discusses the often-neglected areas, such as high-speed design techniques, low-power applications, and high-frequency. Though the text is information dense but the intimate tone used makes it easily readable and more accessible.The USP of this book is its collection of useful example circuits. Along with some examples of good circuits it has some bad ideas too; to disuss what makes the good designs good and the bad ones bad.Reviews of the book"This is a delightful book ... an excellent teaching text as well as a lab reference. The circuits actually work, the schematics are readable, and there is even a section on how to draw good schematics. I recently observed a graduate student in physics unfamiliar with op-amps start to build a haywired mess of a circuit. He then took home The Art of Electronics for one night, and the next day the mess was taken apart, to be replaced by a correctly designed working circuit." -- Review of Scientific Instruments"Full of clever circuits and sharp insights, but with a surprising minimum of mathematics.... This scheme of making maximum use of the insights of simple approximations described in words, and introducing more formal design only after understanding has gained real headway, is the pedagogical core of this original treatment.... The depth is genuine, as is the richness of examples, data and apt tricks." -- Scientific American

Tips of Cooking Meat In The Microwave

Summer is here and if you are anything like me, you dont want to turn on your oven or stove unless absolutely necessary. I do most of my cooking in the microwave during the summer months. It helps keep my home cooler and cuts down on my cooling bill. I have found that many people dont like to cook meat in the microwave. I was once one of those people. Chicken would come out like rubber and I always worried that ground beef didnt cook thoroughly. I have since found that the trick is to use the right cooking utensils. There has also been some hype about how its not safe to use plastic to cook meat or anything else in the microwave. This is only half true. Certain types of plastic have chemicals that are activated with the extreme heat of the microwave and these chemicals can get into your food. For more details visit Hence, the key to cooking in your microwave is, once again, to use the correct cooking utensils. Basically, use containers that are specifically designed for cooking in the microwave. My preference in microwave cooking is Tupperware. Their cookware is specifically designed for the microwave so you dont have to worry about the chemicals. Their Oval Cooker is designed to retain the moisture of your meat so that your meat doesnt come out dry and rubbery. It also has a colander so you can brown your meat and let the grease drip to the bottom. That makes it easy to dispose of the grease drippings or use them for gravy. Tupperware also backs it cooker with a lifetime warranty so if it breaks I can just replace it with a new one, which seems like a good investment to me. So the instructions I am providing below apply to the Tupperware Oval Cooker. If you feel confident using a different type of microwave cooker, of course, try that, but please make sure you follow the guidelines I stated above. Cooking Ground Beef Place the ground beef with your favorite seasoning in the colander of the cooker. Cover and cook for 6 minutes per pound. Let sit a few minutes then remove from the microwave. By using the colander all the grease will drain to the bottom of the cooker. Cooking a Whole Chicken If using the Oval Cooker you will need to use the extender piece for your average size chicken. Then place the chicken in the cooker. Pour about half a cup of water on the bottom of the cooker. Sprinkle your chicken with your favorites seasonings. Place the cover on the cooker and cook for 6 minutes per pound. I think you will be surprised at how moist your chicken comes out. Cooking Cut Up Chicken After cutting up your chicken use the same instructions for cooking a whole chicken. Determine by how high the chicken stacks if you will need to use the extender or not. Cooking Chicken Pieces You can use the colander to cook chicken pieces. Cut the chicken into bit size pieces. I usually use chicken breast cutlets for this. Place the cutup chicken pieces in the colander. Season with your favorite seasonings. Place the cover on the cooker and microwave for 6 minutes per pound. Cooking Pork I have not yet tried cooking pork in the microwave. Pork is tricky and my family doesnt eat pork so that is one reason I have never tried cooking it in the microwave. However, there are plenty of beef and chicken recipes out there, so I hope the above suggestions will help you keep your kitchen cooler during the hot summer months.