Physics vs Electronics: What Is the Difference?

Two neighbouring subjects that answer different questions.

Physics asks why nature behaves the way it does. It studies matter, energy, forces, light and charge, and tries to explain them with general laws. Electronics asks how some of those laws can be used to build useful devices: circuits that sense, switch, amplify and process signals.

A physicist might measure how electrons move through a crystal. An electronics engineer picks a part made from that crystal and wires it into a design that works reliably and cheaply. Neither field gets far without the other, which is why a little physics makes every circuit easier to understand.

• Physics focuses on understanding: models, experiments and mathematics.
• Electronics focuses on design: choosing parts, building and testing circuits.
• They overlap in electricity, magnetism, waves and semiconductors.

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