Imagine a world without electrical engineering

Have you ever stopped to think how essential electricity is in our lives? Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduates tell us what the world would be like without it. Be afraid, be very afraid!

Exactly what is electrical engineering?

Electrical engineering covers a broad spectrum of subjects, some of which are:

Electrical power

Generation, control, distribution – this gives us all our electricity that we take for granted.

Communications

Internet and phone connections. In just over 140 years we have developed a simple two wire, single function communication system into a global communications device that we carry around in our pocket.

Instrumentation and control

We need to measure the world: temperature, speed, distance, etc. For example, a modern mobile phone measures orientation simply to change your screen from portrait to landscape. It can be used for much more.

Automation

Automation is widespread in industrial applications and becoming more common in domestic and service sectors. Developments of the future will continue to produce devices that can undertake repetitive, dangerous and harmful tasks.

Nano electronics

Using the principles of quantum physics, nano electronics seeks to develop ever smaller, faster and more intelligent devices at the chip level design.

All these subjects and more, are part of the world of electronic and electrical engineering. They influence our world to such an extent that we cannot easily imagine a world without them.

What would happen without electrical engineering?

If we could remove all the electrical engineering capability from our planet in one quick action, imagine what would happen...

In the same instant all lights powered by the mains electricity would be extinguished. The world would be in darkness apart from battery powered devices. Batteries, in a short time, would fade and become scarce.

Within minutes, mobile phone systems would cease to function. Computer systems that run the World Wide Web would run on battery powered systems for a short while. But with no expertise to maintain them, they would fail in a few hours.

From this point on you have no way of communicating with your friends or your family, you are isolated, alone. If you become ill, contacting a doctor or even getting to a place where there is medical help will be difficult.

Within the first few minutes, transport systems would grind to a halt. Within days, even your car would fail. Without maintenance of the infrastructure systems that provide us with fuel, batteries, etc. we could not replenish our fuel systems.

Within hours, we wouldn't be able to keep our homes warm. We couldn't easily cook food or keep it cool. Our homes would become cold, our only method of heating would be fire.

Backup generators in hospitals would fail. We could no longer be saved and treated with the marvels of electronic medical equipment and our life expectancy would be lower than it is in our modern world.

In weeks, our society would be as if it were back in the Stone Age.

Without electronic and electrical engineers pushing the forefront of technology, developing medical equipment such as medical imaging scanners to keep us healthier longer; communications technology to keep us, and all our systems, in touch; modern, ecologically-friendly power generation and transport systems and technology to make our modern lives easier – the world would be a very different place.

If you'd like to keep us all from returning to the Stone Age, why not find out about studying on the Electrical and Electronic Engineering course?