Essential Question: How can reverse engineering help me better understand the way certain electronics work?

In the projects that I’ve been doing, I’ve noticed that there is a lot I can learn about engineering in each one. In really inspecting the components in each item I take apart, I can thoroughly analyze why each thing is essential to the whole device. Of course that is not the case for every little piece in the devices I take apart, since there have been certain components that I did not entirely understand in terms of its function, or I just didn’t see its relevance in the bigger picture. Regardless of that, I am still able to learn from each piece and perhaps find similarities between different devices. When I took apart the phone and the ps4 for instance, I noticed that the wifi cables looked similar which was interesting to me because I thought that them being different devices, everything would look different. And although they are very different devices that serve different purposes, it helped me realize that at their core, many devices share several similarities with each other. Additionally, the computer-aided design  (CAD) I have been practicing has also allowed me to see the relevance in the specifics of certain components. For instance, the casing for a certain device such as the hairdryer has to be big enough to fit all of its necessary components, compact enough to keep all components in place, and comfortable enough for someone to use without any issues. It also has to have the right material to prevent melting and be shaped a certain way so that air can travel through properly. Clearly the shell alone in a hairdryer does a lot of work to help the device function better. That is something that I often overlook when using any everyday product, but it has allowed me to see why it is so essential. Going into the project I didn’t realize how much emphasis would be placed on the parts that keep all of the wires and ribbon cables etc. together. I thought I would be spending more time investigating the more “electronic” aspects of these devices, but I came to realize that the pieces that protect these sensitive parts are just as important.