electronic

1. of, concerned with, using, or operated by devices in which electrons are conducted through a semiconductor, free space, or gas

2. of or concerned with electronics

3. of or concerned with electrons or an electron

4. involving or concerned with the representation, storage, or transmission of information by electronic systems

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

electronic

[i‚lek′trän·ik]

(electronics)

Pertaining to electron devices or to circuits or systems utilizing electron devices, including electron tubes, magnetic amplifiers, transistors, and other devices that do the work of electron tubes.

electronic

No moving/mechanical parts. The term electronic implies that analog and/or digital circuits are used to provide a solution. Electricity (electrons) activate semiconductor elements that change their state, but all the movement is at atomic levels. Electronic systems also imply some form of decision making or "intelligence" as in all computer-based devices. See intelligence and electronics.

Electromechanical and Electrical
Computers, smartphones and tablets are examples of electronic devices, whereas a keyboard and mouse are electromechanical devices because they have moving parts (keys, buttons, scroll wheels). Electricity used as raw power for heat, light and motors is considered electrical, not electronic.

From "Electron Tube"
Although coined earlier, "Electronics" magazine (1930) popularized the term electronic. The magazine subheading read "Electron Tubes - Their Radio, Audio, Visio and Industrial Applications." The term was derived from the electron (vacuum) tube. See semiconductor, vacuum tube, hardware circuit, electron and electromechanical.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Vendors on all schedules may now sub mit requests for contract modifications electronically. Fox said it should speed up the approval of modifications.

As part of its push for electronic commerce, GSA

Michael Quinn, of Mortgage Brain developers MBL Ireland, said: "From my work with the IMAF brokers, I am finding a pent-up demand to do business electronically and submit application forms to the lenders for a better level of service and efficiency.

Sorted and the City: 'Move with the times' CALL FOR HOME LOANS SECTOR TO GO HI-TECH

The licensing officer will review the comeback from the Department of Defense, which will be sent to him or her electronically, and now they are in the position to decide whether or not this license application should be issued to the applicant.

Remarks at the Roll-Out of D-Trade: the new Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Directorate of Defense Trade Control electronic licensing system

"When the sale is completed, the transaction is cleared electronically, and ownership and funds transfers are handled electronically, as well."

The Seam: high-tech cotton trading. (Cotton & Rice Marketing)

CourtLink claims to have been the first company to create a single online platform for both electronically accessing records and filing documents with the courts.

Lexisnexis Group acquires Courtlink Corp

Of course, not everyone will get to Rome, and even for those of us who have seen the astonishing thing, it is useful and poignant to be able to conjure up some sort of remembrance electronically. Can virtual reality ever create a similar effect to the one that Wagner hoped to achieve with his mystische Abgrund?

ARTS AND THE PUBLIC REALM

In fact, charging for these services would help us bear the costs (for hardware, software, modem lines, etc.) of becoming more electronically connected with our patients.

Are we all just stupid?

THE city council should carry out more of its financial business electronically, according to a new report.

'E-commerce' would cut city costs

The name change ostensibly counteracts the association's stagnant membership level and recognizes the growth of electronically delivered specialized information.

NY conference and association name change usher in new e-era for newsletter publishers

Ovid Technologies (NASDAQ NM: OVID), New York, N.Y., has reached agreements with the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Institute of Biological Sciences to electronically publish those organizations' flagship journals, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (ISSN 0077-8923), and BioScience (ISSN 0006-3568), respectively.

OVID EXPANDS PORTFOLIO OF SCIENCE JOURNALS