Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1525004
60 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2024 end, so it just goes full bore till it gets to the other end, and then it behaves based on what's at the end of the pipe. If the pipe is con- nected to another pipe, it flows into the new pipe (the switch there is turned on). If there's a machine there (i.e., something that wants to use that energy, such as a motor, a light bulb fila- ment, or a speaker), then that energy will be converted from an electromagnetic field into kinetic energy. It will continue to consume that energy as long as it's present. If the pipe is open (the switch is turned off ), the field will get to the end, and it will start to pile up, because it didn't know it wasn't supposed to go there, and it can't go anywhere. It will finally, at some point, reach equilibrium, and all the energy will be stable. When the switch turns off, the energy behind the switch will no longer move. e energy in the new pipe will continue to behave according to what it's being told at the other end. It will be consumed. It will be transmitted to another space, or it will stop moving. at basic approach is what I wanted everyone to understand. From that perspective you can really start to make good decisions on doing your PC board design. It's really simple. e behaviors are pre- dictable, once you understand that the energy is in a space, not in a wire. If the energy flowed through wires, there would be no such thing as radio because there are no wires connecting you to the radio station. at was the founda- tion of my talk. Why do PCB design engineers tend to focus so much on circuit theory and less on field theory? I have no idea. For some unknown reasons, the entire electronics industry has embraced the concept that when you put this energy on a printed circuit board, it suddenly changes from an electromagnetic field, which travels at the speed of light, to electrons traveling in wires, even though electrons have mass and can't travel at the speed of light. We have proof every day that this is wrong, but we firmly believe it. I would have fought to the death to defend that perspective if Rick Hartley hadn't corrupted me and shown me the evil of my ways. Rick corrupted and corrected you. Yes, he corrected me. at's the challenge fac- ing the industry right now: We're still focus- ing on circuit theory, which really isn't about electromagnetic field energy, when what we're trying to do is build systems that generate, control, and consume electromagnetic fields. at's our challenge. We're still not connecting those dots at the university level. Are they not teaching electromagnetic theory or are they just not teaching it the right way? Current is electromagnetic field moving in a dielectric. An ampere is one coulomb per sec- ond passing through a space. It's like gallons per minute in a water hose. It's not a measure of how many electrons are running past, and the current doesn't go back to where it came from. ere is no return current. e electro- magnetic field goes from where it was to where it has to go based on the nature of the plumb- ing that it's connected to. As a result, our job is to figure out where we want it to go and make a structure that the energy will follow. It will fol- low the path that's made up from power sup- ply or signal conductor, dielectric, and ground conductor, which people call a return. at flow of energy, from the source to the load, has to be through a completely intact pipeline. When all the switches are closed, you need to look from the load back to the power supply and see a dielectric that's bounded on both sides to provide the intact transmission line for the field energy to move through. If it's not intact, there will be discontinuities that Dan Beeker