Price: $39.99 - $29.55
(as of Nov 03, 2024 01:55:19 UTC – Details)
Open Circuits is a photographic exploration of the beautiful design inside everyday electronics. Its stunning cross-section photography unlocks a hidden world full of elegance, subtle complexity, and wonder.
Our phones, computers, and appliances are made of hundreds of internal components, each precisely engineered to perform a certain function, but none intended to actually be seen. Through painstakingly executed, vividly detailed cross-section photography, Open Circuits reveals the surprising—and often accidental—beauty hiding inside the electronic components that drive our everyday devices.
From resistors to LEDs, USB cables to headphone jacks, stepper motors to nixie tubes, the book’s arresting imagery transforms more than 130 components into delightful works of art. As you visually dissect the components’ insides, you’ll learn about how they work and how they were made. Open Circuits has something for everyone to appreciate, whether you’re a seasoned electrical engineer, an amateur tinkerer, or simply a lover of art and photography.
From the Publisher
‘Aesthetic and informational’
“Anyone interested in electronics and/or macrophotography will enjoy this book from both an aesthetic and informational standpoint. . . . It’s truly a technological and photographic masterpiece.”
—Jeremy Cook, Embedded Computing Design
‘Unlocks a hidden world’
“Its stunning cross-section photography unlocks a hidden world full of elegance, subtle complexity, and wonder. . . . Open Circuits has something for everyone to appreciate, whether you’re a seasoned electrical engineer, an amateur tinkerer, or simply a lover of art and photography.”
—Lee Goldberg, Electronic Design
‘A fascinating journey’
“This book made me fall in love with electronics all over again . . . Part history book, part coffee-table book, and part journey into the inner lives of the electronics, [Open Circuits] is a fascinating journey through the history of electronics.”
—Haje Jan Kamps, TechCrunch
About the Authors
Eric Schlaepfer runs the popular engineering Twitter account @TubeTimeUS, where he posts cross section photos, discusses retrocomputing and reverse engineering, and investigates engineering accidents. Some of his better-known projects include the MOnSter 6502 (the world’s largest 6502 microprocessor, made out of individual transistors) and the Snark Barker (a retro recreation of the famous Sound Blaster sound card).
Windell H. Oskay is the co-founder of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, where he designs robots. A longtime photographer, he holds a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from Lake Forest College and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Annotated Build-It-Yourself Science Laboratory.
About the Publisher
No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, creating both timely and timeless titles like Python Crash Course, Python for Kids, How Linux Works, and Hacking: The Art of Exploitation. An independent, San Francisco-based publishing company, No Starch Press focuses on a curated list of well-crafted books that make a difference. They publish on many topics, including computer programming, cybersecurity, operating systems, and LEGO. The titles have personality, the authors are passionate experts, and all the content goes through extensive editorial and technical reviews. Long known for its fun, fearless approach to technology, No Starch Press has earned wide support from STEM enthusiasts worldwide.
Publisher : No Starch Press; Combined edition (November 1, 2022)
Language : English
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1718502346
ISBN-13 : 978-1718502345
Lexile measure : 1220L
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 8.31 x 0.87 x 10.31 inches
Customers say
Customers find the pictures amazing and clear. They also describe the information as very informative, fascinating, and great for an introduction to components. Readers appreciate the easy-to-understand descriptions and bite-sized bits of explanation with each photo.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Bishop –
Excellent for beginners!
TLDR; Detailed pictures, Wide range of components, easy to understand The pictures are clear and large enough to see very small details. It includes many different types of the same component. For example film resistor, surface mount resistor, thick film resistor array.The chapters span across passive components, semiconductors, electromechanics, cables and connectors, and retro technology. The explanation of each component easy to understand. Some components have a graph with lines pointing to each part.
Allen –
Good Book, Good Pictures
The construction of the book and quality of the print is good.Very detailed macro photos and good explanations for each subject.
Customer X –
Absolutely great book, love it! Amazon packing should not mix books with food goods…
Have absolutely enjoyed this book, the authors did a excellent job with the photos and details. Thank you to the YouTube channel CuriousMarc for making a video on it!!As a kid I had a rocks and Minerals book and I would sit for hours and reading through it, looking at all the close up pictures. I’d , mentally take journeys to the rocks native location and imagining how they were created over time, the chemical composition and bonds that formed the shapes and absolutely enjoyed those adventures over TV.Fast forward and now I have a new book that fits more into my other hobby, Electronics. The book shows clear and detailed explanations with pictures of components I have used many times over the years, even the older versions. The cut away view of each component shows the internal connections or materials and how they are made is really fascinating to see. The pictures even show the inner workings of some of the more advances yet common components used in every day electronics. Well worth the read. For sure to offer a young person that final spark to make a choice into a long term career path. Would recommend getting one for a office waiting room, a coffee table as a conversation piece, or one just to have in that how does it work collection of books. So happy I purchased this book.My cats even like to curl up and read the book with me but I suspect it’s for other reasons… Amazon packed the book to me un-wrapped and without a protective bag in a box with two 15lbs bags of cat food. By the time I received the order the book corners had ripped open one of the bags of cat food and the food was smashed all over the box leaving a oil residue on the book. Luckily the oil was thin and wiped off the face of the book relatively easily. The corners of the book received some rounding and have minor damage but nothing that regular use over time would also produce.I guess this was a happy little accident as now my cats are always sitting on my lap reading with me, waiting for me to leave the book un attended… as it does smell like a giant bag of cat food…
hanschang –
Beautiful photo
Beautiful photo
JSC –
Amazing for an intermediate-level hobbyist, probably great for all other levels too
The pairing of written text with excellent imagery helped my mind connect the dots on small concepts that I previously fell just short of fully understanding. This “click” happened more times than I can remember. It was helpful for me to know most of these concepts already, then have the book finally crystallize them in my mind completely. However, I would imagine it would be a great starting point for beginners, too, or just a fun book to refresh and see the beautiful images for even the most experienced electrical professional.
Peter S. –
Very neat book
Even if you are not into electronics or interested in repair, this book has pictures of the insides of parts that we use in our devices every day. It goes from simple basic components to much more complicated as you progress through. Really well put together. I look at the pictures with my little one.
Tony –
Great for an introduction to components!
This is not something that you should buy if you want to learn how to apply physics and create circuits. But this is a book you should buy if you want to learn about varying electrical components, motors, boards, etc., available for use in projects. You also learn how they’re created, how they operate, and in what role these components are best used.I love mine and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about electronics or to have a nice reference laying around.
Chris –
High quality photos
High quality photos printed on high qulaity paper. It shows that author of this book has a passion for electronics and is skilled with camera. No corners were cut here to deliver the best images of open circuits.
Alex Cruise –
I really enjoyed this, although it only took about an hour to read–it’s more of a coffee-table book for a specific kind of household. :)The photography is really beautiful, just keep in mind that many of the images use focus-stacking to provide a much better appearance of depth of field than is possible with normal macro shots.I really enjoyed the text too, especially its explanations of what components are useful for, some of their history, and reasons why one might choose particular components.
Sebastián López –
Un fascinante libro para personas interesadas en la electrónica. Además, tiene material de muy buena calidad.
Amazon Customer –
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Viktor Jeremic –
Basic information presented in a very nice and interesting way. Easy to read and appreciate…
Mert –
Kalitesi muhteÅem.Yazısı az, resim aÄırlıklı. Bakmaya doyamayacaksınız