General > General Technical Chat
End of the analog era
coppercone2:
first off for the long term, there is quantum analog, bio-analog, component improvements, adoption of ridiculous high frequencies, greater stability requirements,etc (how much money is put into analog compared to making smaller processors because they sell well?) etc
for the short term keep in mind everyone keeps saying everything is dead to try to reduce salary and try to get 'lower cost' solutions in people heads for the overall bottom line.
Kleinstein:
--- Quote from: Zero999 on June 18, 2021, 08:18:35 pm ---Many of DMMs still have an analogue true RMS converter IC.
--- End quote ---
Many still have it the old analog way, but the digital solution starts to become more common. Not just in highend DMMs, but also in moderate cost DMM chip sets.
--- Quote from: Benta on June 18, 2021, 05:58:07 pm ---Try digitizing sunlight directly (as in brightness measurement). Won't work, no?
--- End quote ---
For ligh intensity there are actually sensor chips with a frequency output - which is kind of half way to a digital signal. Frequency is still analog, but the signal level are digital.
Still most sensors are analog, though the conversion to digital can move closer to the sensor, like temperature sensors with integrated ADC. There are still parts that need to be done analog. The very input signals are usually analog - it is only the information processing that can move to the digital domain. Here some parts are more suitable to do analog and some that are easier / better to do digital.
temperance:
I'm pleased toilets have taken over from shitting in the woods. But it's still shitting.
Siwastaja:
--- Quote from: Kleinstein on June 19, 2021, 05:44:38 am ---For ligh intensity there are actually sensor chips with a frequency output - which is kind of half way to a digital signal. Frequency is still analog, but the signal level are digital.
--- End quote ---
You are mixing up the concepts of "binary" and "digital". The chip is analog.
Digital literally means something that can be expressed accurately as number; encoding can be binary, but can be something else like multi-level voltage, or a number written on a piece of paper. Analog means some continuous physical phenomenon represents the value. This can be voltage, current, frequency, picture made of silver particles, and so on.
Similarly, an analog meter is where a needle is moved in a continuous manner, whereas a digital meter shows a number exactly and directly.
Even analog TV had a discrete number of lines (like y axis pixels). What made it "analog" is the continuous and direct relationship from voltage to brightness.
The distinction isn't always clear. Even digital signalling can have loss of precision while still being called "digital".
schmitt trigger:
Jim Williams, Bob Pease, Bob Widlar. Those were real legends.
But there were many more, low key analog super stars: Bob Dobkin, Thomas Frederiksen, Barrie Gilbert, Jim Solomon and many others that escape my memory.
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