Page 24 - Bebop to The Boolean Boogie An Unconventional Guide to Electronics Fundamentals, Components, and Processes

Ana/og versus Digital 5

Analog bands
Digitai state 4
f
.................................
*-,
Above the
stable position

Below i the
stable position
1

* Time
To Tl T, T3
Figure 1-6. Brick on elastic: two-quanta digital waveform

the real world. If the only requirement in the above example is to determine
whether the brick is above or below the stable position, then the digital view
is the most appropriate.
The accuracy of a digital view can be improved by adding more quanta.
For example, consider a digital view with five quanta: LOW, LOW-MIDDLE,

MIDDLE, HIGH-MIDDLE, and HIGH. As the number of quanta increases,
the digital view more closely approximates the analog view (Figure 1-7).

Analog bands
Digital state +
t ................................ T
HIGH

HIGH-MIDDLE

MIDDLE

LOW-MIDDLE

LOW

Time

Figure 1-7. Brick on elastic: five-quanta digital waveform