I hear a lot of negative things about using “plumbing” metaphors for teaching electronics, but it has always worked for me. I have an intuitive understanding of

I hear a lot of negative things about using “plumbing” metaphors for teaching electronics, but it has always worked for me. I have an intuitive understanding of what each part does through physical analogy with water pressure, and can design fairly complex analog circuits that work based on it. For example, I see a capacitor as a stretchy membrane… it can’t pass electricity/water, but can stretch to absorb energy and release it later. It can conduct pressure waves by oscillating (ac). Edit: this is a good description https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/understanding-electricity-with-hydrodynamics/#:~:text=An%20inductor%20is%20also%20very,turning%20at%20a%20steady%20rate https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/understa.... To be fair, I have a physics and engineering background and do really understand how these components actually work, and where this metaphor breaks down, but I still find this mental model is what I use to intuitively design circuits that work.