{"id":162,"date":"2018-09-18T16:47:42","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T16:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/embedded-systems\/?page_id=162"},"modified":"2018-09-18T16:51:01","modified_gmt":"2018-09-18T16:51:01","slug":"digital-signal-glossary-entry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/embedded-systems\/glossary-2\/digital-signal-glossary-entry\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Signal (Glossary Entry)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Digital signals typically take one of two values. We often consider the \u201cVoltage\u201d at a point in a circuit to take one of the following two states:<\/p>\n

ON\/OFF\r\n\r\n1\/0\r\n\r\nHIGH\/LOW\r\n\r\nTRUE\/FALSE\r\n\r\n3.3V\/0.0V\r\n\r\n5.0V\/0.0V<\/pre>\n
In all the above cases, the electrical voltage is considered to be in only one of two states, and which notation we use often depends on the practical application or type of theoretical analysis we are performing.<\/p>\n
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Example of a digital signal changing with time. This figure shows a digital signal that uses 5V logic. Note the signals don\u2019t quite reach 0V or 5V (exaggerated for illustrative purposes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
In practice, if we examine real-world signals closely, we see minor variations (typically noise or artifacts). Digital systems are in fact Analogue systems that use high gain amplifiers to switch signals rapidly been two values (or ranges of values).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
A single digital signal is known as a \u2018bit\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n