Electrical devices use the energy of electric current and convert it in simple ways into some other form of energy most likely light, heat, or motion. The heating elements in a toaster turn electrical energy into heat so you can burn your toast. And the motor in your vacuum cleaner turns electrical energy into motion that drives a pump that sucks the dust out of your carpet. In contrast, electronic devices do much more. Instead of just converting electrical energy into heat, light, or motion, electronic devices are designed to manipulate the electrical current itself to coax it into doing interesting and useful things. That very first electronic device invented in 1883 by Thomas Edison manipulated the electric current passing through a light bulb in a way that let Edison create a device that could monitor the voltage being provided to an electrical circuit and automatically increase or decrease the voltage if it became too low or too high. One of the...