Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | T | The Technology Teacher

Logic circuits and the quality of life: the applications of logic circuits are countless.

Article Excerpt
Introduction

With the flooding of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, people around the world became all too aware of human dependency on technology to manage the forces of nature and maintain a high quality of life. New Orleans' sewage and water control systems depend on water pumps to move sewage, storm-water runoff, and fresh water around the city. Under normal conditions, when it rains in New Orleans, a city that sits below sea level, massive water pumps are automatically engaged, and rain water is pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, a nearby reservoir. However, when Katrina hit and electrical power to the city was cut, the system failed.

The transport of drinking water is one of the technological marvels that people do not think about until they have to go without. Water systems need several important components in order to operate efficiently, such as pumps and pump motors and reliable automation.

At the heart of the system that automates water pumping is an electronic control circuit. Electronic control circuits are used in a wide variety of applications, from controlling pump motors to making automobiles more safe and efficient. The same technology that forms the essence of this control and automation is also the basic building block of central processing units in computers. This technology is so pervasive in everyday life that it is truly a fundamental of technology that middle school and high school students need to understand.

This technology is known as the binary logic gate.

Logic Control Circuits

Often, logic circuits are interfaced with other devices, such that the electronic circuits control the behavior of the other devices. For example, if there is water present in a storm drain, a water pump should automatically turn on. In order to do this, the logic circuit must be able to tell if water is present. This is accomplished by using sensors. There is a variety of ways to sense the presence of moisture. On some sensors, if water is...