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Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a powerful technique for controlling analog circuits with a processor's digital outputs. PWM is employed in a wide variety of applications, ranging from measurement and communications to power control and conversion. Analog circuits An analog signal has a continuously varying value, with infinite resolution in both time and magnitude. A nine-volt battery is an example of an analog device, in that its output voltage is not precisely 9V, changes over time, and can take any real-numbered value. Similarly, the amount of current drawn from a battery is not limited to a finite set of possible values. Analog signals are distinguishable from digital signals because the latter always take values only from a finite set of predetermined possibilities, such as the set {0V, 5V}. Analog voltages and currents can be used to control things directly, like the volume of a car radio. In a simple analog radio, a knob is connected to a variable resistor. As you turn the knob, the resistance goes up or down. As that happens, the current flowing through the resistor increases or decreases. This changes the amount of current driving the speakers, thus increasing or decreasing the volume. An analog circuit is one, like the radio, whose output is linearly proportional to its input. As intuitive and simple as analog control may seem, it is not always economically attractive or otherwise practical. For one thing, analog circuits tend to drift over time and can, therefore, be very difficult to tune. Precision analog circuits, which solve that problem, can be very large, heavy (just think of older home stereo equipment), and expensive. Analog circuits can also get very hot; the power dissipated is proportional to the voltage across the active elements multiplied by the current through them. Analog circuitry can also be sensitive to noise. Because of its infinite resolution, any perturbation or noise on an analog signal necessarily changes the current value.
Approximate Word count = 1276
Approximate Pages = 5.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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