There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings [Paperback]

Kenn Amdahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991 | ISBN-10: 0962781592 | ISBN-13: 978-0962781599

An off-beat introduction to the workings of electricity for people who wish Richard Brautigan and Kurt Vonnegut had teamed up to explain inductance and capacitance to them. Despite its title, it's not wild ranting pseudo-science to be dismissed by those with brains. Rather, Amdahl maintains that one need not understand quantum physics to grasp how electricity works in practical applications. To understand your toaster or your fax machine, it doesn't really matter whether there are electrons or not, and it's a lot easier and more fun to start with the toaster than with quarks and calculus. The book is mildly weird, often funny, always clear and easy to understand. It assumes the reader doesn't know a volt from a hole in the ground and gently leads him or her through integrated circuits, radio, oscillators and the basics of the digital revolution using examples that include green buffalo, microscopic beer parties, break-dancing chickens and naked Norwegian girls in rowboats. OK, it's more than mildly weird.

The book has been reprinted numerous times since 1991 and has achieved minor cult status. Reviewed and praised in dozens of electronics and educational magazines, it is used as a text by major corporations, colleges, high schools, military schools and trade schools. It has been studied by education programs at colleges across the United States. This book was making wise cracks in the corner before anyone thought of designing books for dummies and idiots; some say it helped to inspire that industry.

It may be the only "introduction to electronics books" with back cover comments by Dave Barry, Ray Bradbury, Clive Cussler, and George Garrett, as well as recomendations from Robert Hazen, Bob Mostafapour, Dr. Roger Young, Dr. Wayne Green, Scott Rundle, Brian Battles, Michelle Guido, Herb Reichert and Emil Venere. As Monitoring Times said, "Perhaps the best electronics book ever. If you'd like to learn about basic electronics but haven't been able to pull it off, get There Are No Electrons. Just trust us. Get the book."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Amdahl's book has a serious purpose behind the flippancy and silliness: to teach electricity and electronics to mathematics and physics anxiety sufferers." -- Choice

"Don't let non-ham friends or family find this book in your library, though; if they read it, they'll find out that there's no big mystery to electronics and spoil their image of you as a master of a stupefying technical art." Brian Battles -- QST Magazine

"Every millennium or so, a radical non-conformist type appears on the scene to challenge the status quo of science. In this case, the heretic postures that electronics doesn't have to be so difficult. Kenn Amdahl is to electronics manuals what Dr. Seuss is to children's books" Scott Rundle -- B & W's Coda

"Here at last is a book that explains electricity in terms simple enough even for the scientifically impaired. Though uncredentialed and unconventional professing disbelief in the existence of electrons even as he describes their behavior Amdahl is nevertheless wise, witty, and very effective, aiding comprehension of abstruse jargon and arcane concepts with gimmicks like dancing chickens, wizards, and green buffalo" -- A Common Reader

"Like a lighthearted melding of Mr. Wizard and the folks of National Lampoon, There Are No Electrons takes a radically different approach to electronics. Electrons are little green men on their way to a killer party; capacitors are parking lot sized traffic jams; Greenies, it seems, like to surf on magnetic flux. And why not? Even the experts must speculate the details of electron theory. Amdahl just sees things a little differently. You will too." -- Videomaker Magazine

"Most of all, the book is a thought provoker and teacher, leading the reader with no background in science or math gently down the road to electrical enlightenment. It would be a useful supplement to any beginning course in electronics." -- Old Colony Sound Lab

"The Mysteries of Electricity are Revealed in this bizarre and often amusing text-book-in-a-clown suit. It'll seem needlessly frivolous and even flippant to the annoying minority that have no trouble copping an A in physics. For the other four billion or so earth citizens, it's about the easiest and clearest course in basic electronics imaginable. It serves well as a refresher course or a solid introduction to the complicated stuff. The presentation is accessible to a sixth-grader, yet I'd guess that most adults would not be gagged by the author's antics. If you can hack this style of teaching, you'll get what you need." -- The Whole Earth Review

This is a totally painless way to learn about something that affects our lives every day. If only we could get Amdahl to write books on history, geography, grammar, math and brain surgery, we'd have no need for schools. -- Big Books From Small Presses

From the Back Cover

"There Are No Electrons changed my life. I lost 17 pounds in five minutes without dieting, and I feel great!" Dave Barry

"Fascinating and fun! We all feel somewhat dumb when it comes to electronics. There Are No Electrons would be a proper tonic for this ignorance" Ray Bradbury

"I think There Are No Electrons is a major breakthrough in teaching the elementary physics of electricity. It should be required basic reading for high school science students.

"After 58 years of wandering in an electronic void, even a blockhead like me, who could never visualize the abstract, was able to penetrate the nebulous mists of amps, volts, current, induction, and conductors, and actually understand what the hell they're all about.

"Who knows? Perhaps it will lead to a whole new concept of teaching." Clive Cussler

"I am sure that Kenn Amdahl's lively and entertaining book will be a whole lot of help to people who are seriously engaged in learning about electronics. And that is an important achievement. But, above and beyond the practical, Amdahl, with a magical energy all his own, has created a wonderful book about 'a beautiful and powerful mystery.' This book is about electricity and everything else, too. I can't wait to recommend it to all my friends." George Garrett

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Clearwater Publishing (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962781592
• ISBN-13: 978-0962781599
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Nuclear Physics > Atomic & Nuclear Physics
  • #17 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Electromagnetism > Electricity

More About the Author

After 89 Real Publishers rejected There Are No Electrons, I formed Clearwater Publishing Company to publish it myself. That was twenty years ago; the book has sold nearly 100,000 copies and continues to sell well. Thank you to everyone who has bought it.

Then I wrote two math books with Jim Loats, Ph.D.- Algebra Unplugged and Calculus for Cats. I also published my humorous novel, The Land of Debris and the Home of Alfredo. In answer to the hordes of people who ask me, hey, Kenn, how can I write better myself so I can live your cushy lifestyle, I published Joy Writing: Discover and Develop Your Creative Voice. Although, I must point out, I drive a 13 year old cargo van and camp in a 30 year old motor home. So "cushy" isn't the first word springing to most folks' minds about my lifestyle. But I do enjoy writing and that book describes my own philosophy about it.

While I was driving into the mountains, a voice whispered this sentence into my ear: "Some people say I ain't smart enough to have did what I done." The imaginary voice cracked me up. I spend so much time trying to write better, the idea of writing a book that was, at best, grammatically inconsistent seemed liberating and fun, only I had no idea for a story. When I got home, I tried to write in that voice and the result, a few months later, was "Jumper and the Bones." It's a sweet and sometimes funny little novel. I released it as a Kindle book and have gotten some really great feedback. But don't buy it if bad grammar irritates you. That's just how Jumper talks. I had not thought about the market, but it turns out that some kids enjoy the book at least as much as adults.

Over the last couple of years I started blogging, because everyone says authors "need" to blog. Once or twice a week I write about my tropical fish, or politics, or gardening. Sometimes I chat about writing or promoting books. My blog is called "The Wordguise Alembic;" predictably, I put together a collection of sixty or so blogs into a kindle book called "The Wordguise Alembic Volume One." Besides blogs and poems, it contains lengthy excerpts from each of my other published books, as well as chapters from two of my books in progress. It's an easy way to sample them all and choose which one you might like to read all the way through.

My little publishing venture has led me to meet many interesting folks, from famous guys like Dave Barry and Clive Cussler to folks as obscure as me. I've gotten neat letters from Ray Bradbury, Tom Robbins and a host of others, as well as from prisoners, folks in the White House, students and hopeful writers of all kinds. Writing introduced me to my tribe, and it's a cool bunch of people. I've had some fun surprises, as well. Famed inventor Dean Kaman was asked on the radio about his favorite books and he mentioned Calculus for Cats at some length. I discovered that Encyclopedia Britannica had recommended one of my math books. Once, at a bluegrass festival five hundred miles from home I saw someone in the audience reading Algebra Unplugged. I had to show them my driver's license to convince them I was one of the authors. At a lunch for local writers, I introduced myself to a guy whose eyes got wide as he shook my hand. "I've HEARD of you!" he said in astonishment. I do not, apparently, look like a guy someone might have heard of.

I also write songs and play guitar. I've performed on a few CD's and set my coffee cup down on even more. I was in the acoustic group "Cottonwood" for ten years or so; we released two CD's. Each included a few of my originals.

I like to garden, and when the harvest isn't so impressive, I let the plants go to seed, collect the seed, and try to convince my wife that's what I was going for all along. I harvest peaches from a half dozen trees I raised from seeds. I've recently gotten fascinated with growing mushrooms and have jars of mycelium lurking all around my office. I also make wine and soap and buttermilk, which is fun as long as you remember which one you're doing at any given time. I'm a defensive mechanic who will try to fix the problem that has stranded me at the side of the road for a long time before I call someone who knows what he's doing. Similarly, I will repair my own plumbing until my clothes are just too soaked, and will wire a light switch when asked to do so. I am rarely asked.

I've been married to my beautiful and very patient high school sweetheart for over 40 years now. We have three grown sons, a couple of cats, a bunch of guppies, and some banana slugs in a terrarium. I've been involved with a number of book-related non profits in Colorado, and served on the board of directors for a few. I'm nearly finished writing a book about ALS and Alzheimer's called "Revenge of the Pond Scum." I've written a half dozen unpublished novels and may release another one on Kindle just to see how that goes. But if you're listening, and your name is "Random House" I'd sure be willing to let you have a chance at them first.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amdahl deserves a teaching award., August 25, 2003

By 

Godfrey T. Degamo - See all my reviews

This review is from: There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings (Paperback)

I just recently finished reading this book. The motivation for reading this book was, ofcourse, to learn electronics, both analog and digital, and to ultimately be able to build out ideas that I have floating in my head for the last several years.

The cover of this book caught my eye, and flipping through the pages, I could tell the book was definitely not dry. But was it good? I looked up some of the reviews and all of them were positive from some more reputable sources: National Public Radio/ Car Audio and Electronics / Science News / Radio Electronics Magazine. So I decided to purchase the book.

This book introduces basic concepts of eletronics by use of analogies; imagery of little green men, chickens, and magicians to get his points across. Amdahl was impressed that his children could comprehend the entire Star Wars universe after watching the movie for 2 hours, and he figures he could do the same with electronics.

Usually the format goes, introduce a theory with the usual electron jargon, translate the jargon into a story about Greenies who want to party. Repeat a few times, then review the last few sections with a story about Greenies and electron jargon.

The concepts learned are pretty basic. It doesn't get into much detail, or formulas except for the two basic ones where a component is in series versus in parallel. Semi-conductors are covered.

The stories themselves are somewhat entertaining. And they help you *some what* remember the concepts you learned. Amdahl has borrowed a concept used by mnemonics.

However, the stories can be quite long. Some sections have five pages worth of stories to go through, and none of it has to do with electronics, or analogies. Just pure entertainment. I'd rather he just make analogies, and keep the narrative to the minimal. Remember, the more unusual, the better remembered, and to have a long narrative in a story helps make the bizarre imagery rational, thus losing it unusualness.

The stories themselves with the electronics makes this book -for me- worth 3 stars. What makes this book worth five stars is the following.

The book got me over my 'procrastination' hump and into learning electronics. I also liked the analogies and at times Amdahl pretty much comes out and says there are no really good analogies to electronics and everyday life. You'd be foolish to think that the dry textbooks know it all, and he gives some examples of how explanations in textbooks don't really make sense.

That's a big thing, because having forgotten the electronics I learned in highschool, I do remember knowing the rules and how to apply them, but feeling quite anxious about not understanding. which I felt hindered my remembering the subject. Remember, whatever the textbooks or physicists come up with, it is only a model of reality, a mental construct, which just so happens to be the best at the time, but can change.

I also liked the homemade gadgetry he introduces to people which I see lacking in many textbooks on the subject.

The repetitive nature of the concepts introduced along with regular 'review stories' helped to remember important concepts.

Finally, and most important of all, I like the inventive spirit the book seems to have. Kenn Amdahl manages to cultivate your imagination, definitely not something you'd find in other textbooks.

So the negatives of the book. I mentioned one. The stories could be too long at times. The imagery is not 'continuous' first it was green men, then chickens and ducks. The other major problem is that there is no index at the end of the book. There were a few times I wanted to look up a term, but couldn't remember where in the book I read it first.

For those that are impatient and need to learn electron theory fast, I don't recommend this book. It's not detailed enough and the jargon and concepts are not introduced fast enough. But if you are not in this category, this is a great book to start.

(Right now, I am reading as my second book 'electricity: a self teaching guide by Ralph Morrison. It's a good book so far.)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thank god for kenn amdahl....., April 12, 2000

By 

Leslie Richards - See all my reviews

This review is from: There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings (Paperback)

.....for without him i would still be wandering around in the dark, and probably hurt myself with my ignorance. I just finished reading this book (in the course of less than a day, I might add) and felt a desperate need to log on and tell the world what I've discovered. Here it is; are you Ready? there is an absolute genius named Kenn Amdahl who wrote this book that any sixth grader could understand with ease (heck, most fourth graders will probably get it too) but is chock full of info that very few people (of any age) will ever know. For Anyone who wants to know how electricity works and what all those little random bits of plastic inside your walkman are and how they preform their mysterious tricks, you have to have this book. I have never ever enjoyed learning something so much in my life. I couldn't put this book down! (I finally couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and had to get up in six hours for work; nothing else could stop me!) truly useful knowledge was never this much fun! you could read this book just for kicks even if you didn't care about electronics. If teachers learned how to communicate like this, kids would be Begging to go to school and not come home until six or seven at night. and while you're throughly enjoying yourself you will all of a sudden realize that you know, understand, and can even apply all that nonsense that you've been trying to grind out of hundred dollar textbooks. You have no idea at all what a deal this is! ) for anyone who wants to learn how it all works, or already knows but still doesn't get it, this book is hope. Amdahl coaxes the genie out of the bottle, ties him to a table makes him tell you how all the magic actually happens. I don't trust reviews any more than you do, and it usually take seeing five or six of them that all sound about the same, and all sound reasonably sane (to some degreee at least) before i'll start to believe the opinion of people i don't know. I hope this review is number five or six for you, because this book deserves to have songs written about it. Please, Please take the risk and get the book. I Promise you won't be dissapointed. (you'll be too busy laughing at silly metaphors and understanding complex and abstract concepts)

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So That's How It Works!, April 17, 2003

By 

John Downing (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings (Paperback)

I'm a Professional Engineer with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and 15 years experience in the field. As a result, I was living under the delusional assumption that electronics had something to do with electrons. Fortunate for me, Ken came along and set me free of this silly idea.

After all those years of math, physics, and chemistry, I've never been very comfortable with electric shock therapy, or electricity in general. Ken's book has changed my outlook entirely. Now I get up in the morning and can't wait to turn on all the electrical gadgets in my house.

I recommend this book to anyone trying to understand electrical theory. Ken's book is entertaining and very memorable. He takes one of the most complex topics in modern science and reduces it down to a level that even an engineer like me can understand.... Now that's an accomplishment!