![]() Most processors, whether they're big beefy processors in your computer, or tiny little microcontrollers, operate in the digital realm.ĭigital circuits make use of components like logic gates, or more complicated digital ICs (usually represented by rectangles with labeled pins extending from them).ĭigital circuits usually use a binary scheme for digital signaling. These circuits are usually made of a combination of transistors and logic gates and, at higher levels, microcontrollers or other computing chips. Digital Electronicsĭigital circuits operate using digital, discrete signals. Small changes in the voltage level of an analog signal may produce significant errors when being processed. It takes a special kind of analog circuit wizard to design an analog radio receiver, or an analog battery charger digital components exist to make those designs much simpler.Īnalog circuits are usually much more susceptible to noise (small, undesired variations in voltage). ![]() In general, though, analog circuits are much more difficult to design than those which accomplish the same task digitally. ![]() This is an example of a class B analog audio amplifier.Īnalog circuits can be very elegant designs with many components, or they can be very simple, like two resistors combining to make a voltage divider. Looking at a graph of a signal is usually the easiest way to identify if it's analog or digital a time-versus-voltage graph of an analog signal should be smooth and continuous.Īnalog circuits are usually complex combinations of op amps, resistors, caps, and other foundational electronic components. Analog Signal Graphsīecause a signal varies over time, it's helpful to plot it on a graph where time is plotted on the horizontal, x-axis, and voltage on the vertical, y-axis. Audio signals, for example might be transferred between your computer's audio card and speakers, while data signals might be passed through the air between a tablet and a WiFi router. Usually the signals are transmitted through wires, but they could also pass through the air via radio frequency (RF) waves. ![]() Signals are passed between devices in order to send and receive information, which might be video, audio, or some sort of encoded data. So when we talk about signals, just think of them as a voltage that's changing over time. In electrical engineering the quantity that's time-varying is usually voltage (if not that, then usually current). The signals we're talking about are time-varying "quantities" which convey some sort of information. Before going too much further, we should talk a bit about what a signal actually is, electronic signals specifically (as opposed to traffic signals, albums by the ultimate power-trio, or a general means for communication). ![]()
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