There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings

This is how we should teach Science
“There are no electrons, It’s greenies – little green guys(not the ones from X-Files) who like to party.On the positive side of the battery you got a bunch of Greenie chicks. And, I mean some of those chicks are very positive ;)On the negative side, you got some Greenie dudes. Those chicks, they buy a couple of kegs and turn up their little boom boxes. Us guys, we hear the music, and right away we feel that need to party. The more chicks there are, the more little boom boxes they got which makes the music loud. That means more dudes hear it and feel that need to party.So we find a road and cruise down to the positive side to party. Voltage is that need to party, its the reason we go. It’s our thirst for brew, the big itch that must be scratched. You call it voltage we call it need to party.”I could not understand what voltage is till I read this. I have read several books watched several videos over the ears to understand these simple concepts of electricity but all those efforts went in vain. I have found all those books and materials to be very boring and unhelpful, they start with some simple concept but very quickly dive into formulas and more formulas. Then I found this book, It blew my mind away. I could not believe someone could teach electricity with a fairy tale like story. Kenn should be given a noble price in scientific education.If you are like me who want to learn the concepts of electricity but cannot understand the usual text books then you should definitely give this a try. But let me warn you, don’t get lost in the fairy tale story. Now I don’t think that this book can replace all other text books but I do think that this style of teaching is very important. It keeps the audience engaged especially when they are kids. Kids hate formulas and complicated jargon, trust me, we all have been there. I think what this book did was to bring back my interest in electronics like no other book did. This is the first book on electronics that I have read multiple times in my life and yet I find it as interesting every time I read as I found it the first time.I have always been interested in building electronic circuits but could never do so as I could never understand the basic concepts of electricity. I don’t think I understand it even now, but this book has diverted my interested from building circuits to actually understanding electronics and more importantly not by reading a book but by reasoning. I do not know why I cannot understand electronics like some other people do using regular text books. I guess because Kenn is right, no one really understands electricity. But they don’t want to admit. Below is one of my favourite part in the book, it posed a question I never got in my mind.”If the negative terminals of the battery have too few electrons and positive end has too many of them and opposites attract then why can’t I hook up a wire between negative end of one battery and positive end of another battery and get any current?”Apart from explaining some of the simple concepts of electricity what this book also does is bring back the scientist in us which had died in our child hood because of the style of education we received in our school. So rather than just reading books and believing what ever book says we start wondering like a child to try to find the answers.People say arts and science don’t mix. Well this book proves them wrong. This is a book on science which is written very creatively and artistically and very simple to understand. It’s not just science, its very humane.I think this book should be taken as an inspiration and an example of creating our next generation of education system.

A book about electronics that will entertain you while teaching you
Before I discuss the book a little of my electronics background: I took a military electronics course and graduated near the top of my class. I spent my military career troubleshooting and calibrating aircraft navigation and communications equipment A few years later I am now an assembler for a company that man ufactures commercial transmitters. I have had experience working with electronics off-and-on and am developing a hobby interest in electronics, but I NEVER FELT LIKE I UNDERSTOOD IT at all. Kenn Amdahl’s book has changed that.”There Are No Electrons” is Amdahl’s attempt to make learning electronics easy and fun by more-or-less rejecting electron theory (which is, after all, a model for understanding electricity but not the whole truth), mocking jargon, and bucking the establishment of science teachers and engineers who seem to think that the study of electricity has to be obscure, difficult, and boring. The book uses the literary framework of the author writing the book (an absurdly funny, fictionalized version) and being inspired by his encounters with a “Greenie” and a Wizard. Within this framework are many bizarre and hilarious metaphors, analogies, and sub-plots used to explain electrical current and electronics components. These include little green men, break-dancing chickens, human lightning, racing ducks, buffalo crossing bridges, and time-traveling wizards.I do have some prior electronics experience, but I honestly think that this book would even be perfect for someone who has never touched a multimeter or read a schematic. Amdahl helps you understand by getting you to think in different ways and laughing the whole time. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in electronics, whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned professional. However I do not think that engineers will enjoy this book because it consciously attacks the way they have been trained to think.There Are No Electrons is a genuinely entertaining book that kept me reading every page. Even if you have no interest in electronics you may still find this to be an enjoyable humor book.

I thinkg this book should be bought by everyone who loves electronics or is beginning to dip their toes in it. Great explanations and point of view of the subject.

Before reading this book I knew ‘vaguely what electric parts do’, and I could probably plug together a circuit from a diagram. I also have grades in science courses that say I understand volts and currents and resistance and all that.Now I have read this book, I feel I understand the basic ideas behind the most important electronic ideas and jargon, to at least to the level I need to to ‘get’ most household devices. Kenn’s way of explaining might seem ‘silly’ or ‘stupid’ because it is so easy and pleasant to read, but under that easy reading is a torrent of well disguised knowledge and information. I have come away from this book with a much better grasp of electricity and how it works.If you need a way to think about electricity and those ‘electron things’, to see things from another perspective, then get this book. If you’re looking for an entertaining read and you’ve ever wondered how your radio works… well, get this book! You really need no prior knowledge and you’ll come away feeling better about the whole idea of electricity.A ‘fact’ about the book – it isn’t a course textbook. This is not a negative point though, just a warning if you have limited funds and you have been told need a textbook. It isn’t a bible of formulas, it doesn’t contain any complex circuit diagrams, and it doesn’t have more than a few simple math formulas. Despite this, I would hate to study electronics without reading this book first, so I recommend it in addition to a textbook if possible!