Analog signal
hideAn Analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature (variable) of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in that small fluctuations in the signal are meaningful. Analog is usually thought of in an electrical context; however, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other systems may also convey analog signals.
An analog signal uses some property of the medium to convey the signal's information. For example, an aneroid barometer uses rotary position as the signal to convey pressure information. Electrically, the property most commonly used is voltage followed closely by frequency, current, and charge.
Any information may be conveyed by an analog signal; often such a signal is a measured response to changes in physical phenomena, such as sound, light, temperature, position, or pressure, and is achieved using a transducer.
For example, in sound recording, fluctuations in air pressure (that is to say, sound) strike the diaphragm of a microphone which causes corresponding fluctuations in a voltage or the current in an electric circuit. The voltage or the current is said to be an "analog" of the sound.
Any measured analog signal must theoretically have noise and a finite slew rate. Therefore, both analog and digital systems are subject to limitations in resolution and bandwidth. In practice, as analog systems become more complex, effects such as non-linearity and noise ultimately degrade analog resolution to such extent that the performance of digital systems may surpass it. In analog systems, it is difficult to detect when such degradation occurs. However, in digital systems, degradation can not only be detected but corrected as well.
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News tagged with analog signals
700,000 callers phone digital TV hot line
Jun 13, 2009 |
2.7 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- Nearly 700,000 calls were received by a federal hot line this week from people confused about the nationwide switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts that occurred Friday.
Digital TV likes clear signal path
Dec 31, 2008 |
1.3 / 5 (3) |
1
Question: If I buy a new digital TV, can I just plug it in and use it, as I do the old TV now? My son insists that it has to be hooked to an antenna, but the old televisions worked fine without one.
Search results for analog signals
Student sleuths using DNA reveal zoo of 95 species in NYC homes -- and new evidence of food fraud
12 hours ago |
5 / 5 (9) |
2
Two New York City high school students exploring their homes using the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques were astonished to discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything ...
Highlight: Chloride increases response to pheromones and odors in mouse sensory neurons
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
15 hours ago |
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The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is an odor detection system that mediates many pheromone-sensitive behaviors. Vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs), located in the VNO, are the initial site of interaction with odors and pheromones. ...
Cell phone mania forces scramble for more airwaves
Dec 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Wireless devices such as Apple's iPhone are transforming the way we go online, making it possible to look up driving directions, find the nearest coffee shop and update Facebook on the go. All this ...
Neuroscientists uncover possible basis of short-term memory
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 27, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (17) |
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Ben W. Strowbridge, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience and physiology/biophysics, and Phillip Larimer, PhD, a MD/PhD student in the neurosciences graduate program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, ...
'Self-seeding' of cancer cells may play a critical role in tumor progression
Dec 24, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study by researchers ...
What connects the elderly and sports people? Smart sensor technology
Dec 24, 2009 |
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Innovative smart sensing devices promise to boost mobility and quality of life for the elderly, reduce healthcare costs and even give sports people an edge through more effective training.
A novel gene found for childhood-onset asthma
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Pediatric researchers have identified a novel gene involved in childhood asthma, in one of the largest gene studies to date of the common respiratory disease. Because the gene, called DENND1B, affects cells and signaling ...
Research yields new agent for some drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant ...
Bees show off the perfect landing
Dec 23, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (8) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Honey bees undergo a sudden transition from speeding aircraft to hovering helicopter as they perform the delicate art of landing on a flower.
Study shows a key protein helps control blood pressure
Dec 23, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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University of Iowa researchers have shown that a protein channel helps nerve sensors in blood vessels keep blood pressure in check. Without the protein channel, known as ASIC2, the sensors are unable to send the brain the ...
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