"Electronic" vs. "electric"

Most people would refer to computers as being electronic, whereas a flashlight would be described as electric.

I know the general difference (electronic devices use transistors?), but what is it exactly, and how did the second term even come into existence? Why not just use electric for both?

Solution 1:

The distinction comes from the two fields of electrical engineering and electronics (which some consider a subset of the former). Electronics refers to technology that works by controlling the motion of electrons in ways that go beyond electrodynamic properties like voltage and current. That is, electrical technology would work the same if you replaced electrons by some other charge-carrying particles, but electronic technology depends on the specific properties of electrons themselves, such as in semiconductor medium.

Because electronic devices are typically used for representing and manipulating information, this makes for a simple rule of thumb for distinguishing electrical and electronic. Typically, if something uses electricity merely as energy, it is electrical, while if it uses electricity as the medium for manipulating information, it is almost surely electronic.

Solution 2:

Electric / electrical systems use electricity to transmit and manipulate power.

Electronic systems use electricity to transmit and manipulate information.

E.g. an electric battery stores power that can be used to light an electric light bulb. An electronic light sensor produces a voltage that depends on the amount of light falling upon it, which might be used as part of a system that automatically switches a lightbulb off in the daytime.