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Open Circuits: The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components (Packaging may vary)

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About this item:

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

"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

“Each page is both a dive into technological history and an ode to the evolution and aesthetics of electronics themselves.”
—Grace Ebert, Colossal

“An eye-catching and educational coffee table tome.”
—Gareth Halfacree, Hackster.io


"Every page is a new discovery."
—New Screwdriver

"A celebration of the electronic aesthetic . . . blur[s] the line between engineering and art."
—Andrew "bunnie" Huang, Author of The Hardware Hacker and Hacking the Xbox

"Excellent pictures of the world's most interesting objects with clear, accessible explanations."
—Trevor Blackwell, Founder of Anybots

"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

"Stunningly beautiful . . . While the component images stand alone as works of art, authors Schlaepfer and Oskay pair the pictures with clear and informative text that adds to the reader's knowledge of the circuitry they are looking at. This book is sure to be a staple in many makers, educators, and engineers libraries."
—Professor AnnMarie Thomas, University of St. Thomas, School of Engineering

"While it will definitely be a 'geek coffee table book' for me, I would very much have appreciated it when I was 12 years old and first getting into electronics."
—Mark Eichin, Senior Software Developer at RightHand Robotics

"This is the coolest book I've seen in years. Fascinating look inside hundreds of circuits, switches, and mechanical electronic devices that I've never seen before."
—Jeff Geerling, @geerlingguy, Author of Ansible for DevOps

"What an awesome book! A rare breed of technical content that is appreciable by experts and novices alike."
—Chris Lafky, @fluxotronlabs, Electrical Engineer

"Without a doubt, the most beautiful electronics book!"
—Ben Krasnow, @BenKrasnow, YouTuber at Applied Science

About the Author

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.

Review:

5.0 out of 5

100.00% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars I love electronics so I love this book

D.M. · April 16, 2025

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever owned.As an old school electronics person I recognize the necessary markings on electronic devices, but when you put them together in a circuit they are beautiful. They become art.The author of this book has cut open and shown the basic innards of every basic electronic device I have ever touched, workhorses of the old school electronics era. He found a way to show every bit I ever worked with in a clear and orderly way.And then he showed how he did it (hint: tenth of a millimeter). Awesome.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!

J.B. · May 18, 2025

So fun to see the insides of electronics. Bought this as a gift for an electrical engineer after they read it at the library and wanted their own copy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun workplace coffee table book

N.T. · April 2, 2025

I picked this up for the break room at work. Working around a lot of computer parts, I was happy to see even veterans in board repair liked thumbing through this book to support themselves in arguments

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book

S. · March 25, 2025

It's a beautiful book. Electronics has been a hobby since I was a kid. Seeing what's inside the components I've taken for granted all my life is fascinating.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended For Young aspiring minds

H. · March 21, 2025

The book is well laid out with pictures and brief description of the topic. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a better understanding of technology beginning at the Middle school and higher.

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely great book, love it! Amazon packing should not mix books with food goods...

C.X. · November 9, 2022

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... Bolo 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...

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality images and nice details

C.S. · March 29, 2025

High quality images and nice detail

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent pictures and imagination.

D.L.S. · February 15, 2025

This is a fun book to sit down with the grandson and look at what all those parts in the radio he took apart look like inside. Interesting, clear pictures, clear description of the parts and imaginative process to expose stuff we never knew. Who knew there was a seven layer circuit board in the cell phone!

Just pretty and informative

V.J. · August 27, 2024

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } Basic information presented in a very nice and interesting way. Easy to read and appreciate...

Luvvly photas

l. · March 30, 2025

A book that explores the hidden beauty of electronics. It has colour photos and tells you how they were produced. An excellent book, recommended to fans of electronics and computing.

Beautiful

C.A. · January 10, 2025

Worth buying

¡Excelente libro!

S.L. · December 27, 2022

Un fascinante libro para personas interesadas en la electrónica. Además, tiene material de muy buena calidad.

Harika bir kitap

:. · March 10, 2025

Çok ilgilendirici bir kitap. Olağan üstü resim kalitesi var

Open Circuits: The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components (Packaging may vary)

4.9

AED23086

Type: Hardcover

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Product origin: United States

Electrical items shipped from the US are by default considered to be 120v, unless stated otherwise in the product description. Contact Bolo support for voltage information of specific products. A step-up transformer is required to convert from 120v to 240v. All heating electrical items of 120v will be automatically cancelled.

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