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The precise meaning of the term electrical engineering is not universally agreed upon. In some parts of the world, it is considered to be the most general of the electricity-related engineering disciplines, with Electronics Engineering being a subfield. In other areas, electronics engineering is considered to be at the same level as electrical engineering, requiring that more generalised programs be called electrical and electronics engineering. Both terms define a broad field that encompasses many subfields including those that deal with power, instrumentation engineering, telecommunications, and semiconductor circuit design amongst many others. REGIONAL DIFFERENCES Electrical engineering is considered distinct from electronics engineering especially in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe where the strict definition of electrical engineering (whose practitioners are called electrical engineers), is: an engineering discipline that deals with the study and application of electricity and electromagnetism. Where this distinction is made, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control where as electronics engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with small scale electronic systems such as semiconductor circuitry very-large-scale integration. Overlap There is considerable overlap between electrical and electronics engineering fields in practice, and in some countries the two phrases may be used interchangeably. Whether or not electronics engineering is distinguished from electrical engineering must be interpreted from the context in which the term is used. Some have suggested that in places such as the United States the distinction is less common than in places such as the United Kingdom. However both usages can be found throughout the world. For example, the Institution Of Electrical Engineers (which also includes electronics engineers) is a U.K. based organization but the Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers is a U.S. based organization. Conversely the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology names its electrical and electronics engineering department as the "Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering" where as the University Of Sheffield refers to its departments as the "Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering". |
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