OOC:

Rykin
Combat Engineer
Level 1: Electrical Systems
Story 1: Basic Electronics/Wiring

Rykin chewed his lips, not really listening to the lecture on the nature of electricity. Karl had wired his first circuit when he was 11. That was 17 years ago, now, back when he hadn’t had a care in the world besides learning as much as he could as fast as possible. Now, Rykin was in a barracks on the planet Tadath, far from his home on Corellia, learning about very basic wiring from someone who probably wouldn’t be able to comprehend the simplest of his own discoveries.

The two troopers on his right and left were taking avid notes, barely being able to keep up with the instructor’s pace, copying down every diagram and sighing loudly when said diagrams were changed on the fly. Casting shady looks over the rest of the lecture hall, Rykin could see that the majority of the class was undergoing similar stress. Looking down at his own blank page, Rykin sighed and looked back up at the instructor’s notes, his fingers drumming idly on the table, his focus and concentration sliding away to be replaced with boredom and frustration.

“Charge is physical quantity carried by subatomic particles…”

A fact known by every introductory physics student in the Galaxy…

“…that is conserved fundamentally. The interaction between charges and electromagnetic fields is the source of electromotive force, which powers all electrical devices…”

I wonder if he knows what causes charge though. Probably not.

“…and the flow of electrical power is carried by the electron, the subatomic particle with a fundamental quantized charge of -1…”

This caught Rykin’s attention, and his hand shot into the air with a vengeance, begging to correct his instructor. The sudden movement caught the Sergeant’s attention, and he stopped mid-sentence, much to the chagrin of the other troopers in the room.

“Question, Private…?”

“It’s Rykin, sir. It’s not so much a question as it is a point of contention with something you just said. Current is no longer defined in terms of the electron, and modern physics dictates that we define it in terms of conventional current, that is to say the flow of positive charge.”

From his seat in the middle of the lecture hall, he could see the human Sergeant’s eyes narrow in contempt and disbelief. Rykin’s eyes flickered down and he could see the man’s fists clenched at his sides. He cleared his throat after a moment, regaining his composure.

“And just what do you know about what is and is not dictated by modern physics, Private Rykin?” Rykin smiled and bit his lip for effect, looking down modestly.

“I…won the Corellia Institute of Advanced Studies’ prize for Physics Innovation when I was 20, sir. Not meaning any insult, but I’d say I know quite a lot about what is and is not dictated by modern physics…sir.”

The Sergeant was dumbfounded, and every soul in the room was holding their breath except for Rykin, who maintained a serene, calm presence in the face of a challenge such as this one. The Sergeant’s eyes narrowed further, his mouth becoming thin, as he planned his next move. To be honest, Rykin never planned to make a game of dejarik out of it like it had become. He was merely trying to correct the facts for his fellow troopers.

“Well then Private, seeing as you know so much about modern physics, perhaps you can adapt your vast base of knowledge into engineering. Come to the front of the room,” he said, indicating the table filled with electrical equipment. Rykin looked from side-to-side, and was met from either face with a looks that easily combined “on your on head be it” and “you made your bed, now lie in it”. Rykin stood up slowly, like a prizefighter that had been knocked down after a long, hard slog with a bigger, more powerful opponent, and made his way slowly to the front of the room, coming to a halt in front of his instructor, a man slightly taller and thinner than he, and maybe three years younger.

Derisively, the Sergeant picked up a datapad and looked over it for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he read.

“You’re…that killer. You’re that Rykin?”

“Yes sir, I am. PFC Karl Rykin.”

The Sergeant exhaled in disbelief, setting his datapad on his lectern and clapping his hands in eager challenge.

“Well, killer, let’s see what you can do with circuitry, huh? On this table are the necessary implements to construct an ammeter, which we use in the field to do diagnostic work on our other electronics. I’m guessing from your obvious base of knowledge you know what an ammeter is?” Most of the class laughed, the desired effect of the Sergeant’s joke. Rykin felt his cheeks heating up and his jaw clenching, but he just nodded and replied with a quick “Yessir.”

“Good. You have ten minutes to construct an ammeter using the parts provided. Go.” Rykin’s eyes widened at the challenged, and he took a step towards the table bending down as he looked for the necessary parts. For the sake of time, Rykin took up the prefab brass frame and began wrapping wire around it, using a roll of copper magnet wire, no. 14…ten turns per layer…2 layers of wire. Wrapping the wire tightly had always been a problem for Rykin, but his determination offset what clumsiness he had in his fingers.
His brass frame constructed, he moved on to making the support frame for the device, and he was pleased to find all the parts were pre-ground and shaped, and just required he put them together.

The iron core was pre-drilled and he inserted a ground-pointed needle into the hole in the center, making certain it could turn easily. He continued to tinker, minutes passing, until he took a step back from his work, his lips pursed, a bed of sweat visible on his forehead.

“Done, sir.”

It was difficult to tell who was the more perturbed – Rykin, or the Sergeant. The Sergeant brushed past Rykin and hooked up a simple electric motor, connecting the positive lead at one end and the negative lead at the other, and he gasped as the needle deflected. He turned the power down, and the needle’s deflection was lessened.

His face was a portrait of shock, as he turned to the rest of the class.

“And that, troopers, is how you construct an ammeter under pressure. In a moment, I’ll excuse you to the practical lab where you will all construct your own.” He paused for a moment. “That is, all of you except for PFC Rykin, who has passed today’s lesson.”

OOC:

Credit where it's due: http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-mechanics/The-Boy-Mechanic-700-Things-for-Boys-to-Do/How-To-Make-An-Ammeter.html