Electrical Engineering

INTRODUCTION
During the last century and a half, electricity has evolved from a scientific curiosity, to a luxury for wealthy people and to a daily necessity in the developed and developing world. Just as water is necessary for survival, electricity is indispensable in daily life. Without electricity, our way of life comes to a grinding halt. Modern society requires smart, simple, safe, reliable, and economical electric power infrastructure for social, political, and economic activities. The infrastructure should be efficient, flexible to expand, economical to maintain and operate.

A Brief History
Electricity was never invented: its properties were discovered, examined, and explained. Thales of Miletus a Greek in 600 AD wrote of static electricity that attracted pieces of straw and hair to rubbed rods of amber. In 1752, during a dangerous electrical storm, Benjamin Franklin flew a kite that had a metal key at the bottom of the string. When a bolt of lightning hit the kite, a spark of electricity flew from the key. From this experiment, Franklin invented the lightning rod, which attracts lightning and draws it into the ground. This saves many buildings from burning down. In 1779 Alessandro Volta invented the first source of continuous electric current in his experiments with non-static electricity. He created a battery out of stacks of zinc and copper, with weak acids in between each layer. In 1769 James Watt, a Scottish Engineer transformed the limited use steam engine into a mega power source and radically transformed the world from an agricultural society into an industrial one. In his honor, a unit of electric power was named "Watts". Ampere (Amp), a unit of electric current named after Andr-Marie Ampre (1775-1836), French mathematician and physicist, is considered the father of electrodynamics. The first practical application of electricity was the telegraph, invented by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1837. The need for electrical engineers was not felt until some 40 years later, upon the invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell and of the incandescent lamp(1878) by Thomas A. Edison. These devices, and Edison's first central generating plant in New York City (1882), created a large demand for men trained to work with electricity. Electrical Engineering covers power, electronics, control systems, signal processing andtelecommunications field. In engineering practice, the distinction between electrical engineering and electronics is based on the comparative strength of the electric currents used. In this sense, electrical engineering is the branch dealing with "heavy current" that is, electric light and power systems and apparatuseswhereas electronics engineering deals with such "light current" applications as wire and radio communication, the stored-program electronic computer, radar, and automatic control systems. The distinction between the fields has become less sharp with technical progress. For example, in the high-voltage transmission of electric power, large arrays of electronic devices are used to convert transmission-line current at power levels in the tens of megawatts. Moreover, in the regulation and control of interconnected power systems, electronic computers are used to compute requirements much more rapidly and accurately than is possible by manual methods. The rapid proliferation of new discoveries, products, and markets in the electrical and electronics industries has made it difficult for workers in the field to maintain the range of skills required to manage their activities. Consulting engineers, specializing in new fields, are employed to study and recommend courses of action.

In the United States, the regulation of licensed professional engineers is handled at the state level. Thus, requirements for licensure can and do vary by state. The basis for most of the state legislation however is the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)Model Law. There are four main components of obtaining professional engineering licensure: 1. 2. 3. 4. Education Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam Work Experience Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam Electrical engineering has many sub-disciplines, the most popular of which are high Voltage engineering (Power Companies), power engineering (Facilities), and power electronics. Although there are electrical engineers who focus exclusively on one of these sub-disciplines, many deal with a combination of them. Sometimes certain fields, such as electronic engineering and computer engineering, are considered separate disciplines in their own right. Power engineering deals with the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity as well as the design of a range of related devices. These include transformers, electric generators, and electric motors. Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it. Such systems are called on-grid power systems and may supply the grid with additional power, draw power from the grid, or do both. Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid, called off-grid power systems, which in some cases are preferable to on-grid systems. The future includes Satellite controlled power systems, with feedback in real time to prevent power surges and prevent blackouts.

DESCRIPTION
Electrical Engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the technology of electricity, especially the specification and design of electrical systems and equipment for power generation and distribution, control, and communications. An electrical engineer who has a certifiable bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from a recognized School or University and satisfies the requirements for Engineer In Training (EIT) and Professional Engineer (PE) examinations and experience can apply for the state PE license. Once state registered, an Engineer by law has a primary duty to protect the public safety, health, and welfare in the facility electrical systems design by following and applying the latest building codes. The Engineer of Record for the Electrical Systems Design is a state Registered Professional Engineer who develops the electrical system design criteria, performs the analysis, and is responsible for the design, specification, preparation, and delivery of the electrical documents for the construction of projects. Projects may include private /public works, institutional, commercial facilities such as banks, office buildings, schools and colleges, hospitals, medical clinics, retail stores, parking ramps, airports, manufacturing facilities, food distribution centers, warehouses, data centers, department stores, jails, libraries, theaters, and courthouses etc. An Electrical System is any system and assembly of electrical components, materials, utilities, equipment, work system, machines, products, or devices which require electrical energy in order to perform their intended function.

Electrical Engineering Documents: The electrical drawings, specifications, reports and other documents setting forth the overall design and requirements for the construction, alteration, modernization, repair, demolition, arrangement, and/or use of the electrical system, or analysis or recommendations, as prepared by the Engineer of Record for the Electrical System. Electrical Component: An individual electrical device to be part of an electrical system. Electrical: Any device or mechanism that operates due to the action of electricity. Electrical Submittals: Submittals, catalog information on standard products, or drawings prepared solely to serve as a guide for fabrication and installation and requiring no engineering input. Codes and Standards: Those nationally recognized Codes and Standards adopted directly or by reference. To specify and design facility electrical systems including power systems, lighting, communications, alarm systems, lightning protection, grounding system and controls, an electrical engineer needs to coordinate his effort with the fellow designers: