science

Modern Electronics

Modern Electronics is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Modern Electronics rather than just read about it. In short: Modern Electronics was a hobbyist magazine published from October 1984 to March 1991. It became Computer Craft in April 1991 and the name changed again to MicroComputer Journal in January 1994.

Key takeaways

Modern Electronics belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Modern Electronics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Modern Electronics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Modern Electronics was a hobbyist magazine published from October 1984 to March 1991. It became Computer Craft in April 1991 and the name changed again to MicroComputer Journal in January 1994. Modern Electronics, Inc. was owned by CQ Communications, Inc, the publishers of CQ Amateur Radio. Art Salsberg was Editor-in-Chief and Alexander W. Burawa was the Managing Editor. The contributing editors included Len Feldman, Glenn Hauser, Forrest Mims and Don Lancaster. Many members of the editorial staff had previously worked for Popular Electronics but left when that magazine was changed to Computers & Electronics. Here is how Art Salsberg described the new magazine.

Many of you probably know of me from my decade-long stewardship of Popular Electronics magazine, which changed its name and editorial philosophy last year to distance itself from active electronics enthusiasts who move fluidly across electronics and computer product areas. In a sense, then, Modern Electronics is the successor to the original concept of Popular Electronics …

Earlier use of title The title Modern Electronics was used by another magazine that ran from February to October 1978. It was published by the Coean Publishing Corporation of Port Washington New York. The publisher was Richard A Cowan and the editors were Anthony Curtis and Mort Walters. Coean Publishing did not register a trademark for the title Modern Electronics so it was available for Art Salsberg to use in 1984.

References

External links Archived Modern Electronics magazines on the Internet Archive

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Modern Electronics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Modern Electronics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Modern Electronics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Modern Electronics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Modern Electronics

In research: Modern Electronics appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Modern Electronics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Modern Electronics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Defunct hobby magazines published in the United States, Defunct magazines published in New York (state), Hobby electronics magazines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Modern Electronics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Modern Electronics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Modern Electronics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Modern Electronics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Modern Electronics in simple terms?

Modern Electronics was a hobbyist magazine published from October 1984 to March 1991. It became Computer Craft in April 1991 and the name changed again to MicroComputer Journal in January 1994.

Why does Modern Electronics matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Modern Electronics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Modern Electronics.