Data Acquisition Flashcards
Data acquisition
refers to the gathering of data relating to signals, processes or experiments which provide info on real-world physical events.
Usually implied that this data can be manipulated by computers to obtain some key information about the
events.
data conversion
refers to the conversion of data from continuous analogue form to discrete digital form or vice-versa.
usually an intrinsic part of the Data Acquisition process + results in data being stored in binary coded form in some medium.
analogue signal
a signal which is a continuous function of some variable.
Very often the independent variable is time so signal is observed as a function of time.
essential feature is that signal may have any of an infinite number of values within its range + in theory has
infinite resolution.
digital signal
a signal which is quantised + can only have a limited
number of values within a given range.
- normally thought of as being in numerical format + often in binary coded form.
- essential feature is that the signal may have only one of a finite number of values within a range.
noise
a random signal, the value of which cannot be
predicted with absolute certainty at any point in time and which does not normally contain useful information.
-an intrinsic part of nature + normally appears superimposed on useful signals which we want to
measure to get info.
characterising noise
-can only be characterised in statistical terms of probability.
time on a digital clock
Time can only have a value that is an exact number of minutes. Values in between are not accounted for. This
means that the time is only exactly correct at 1,440 instants in the day.
atomic energy levels
Electrons in atoms such as Silicon can
only have energies at specific values,
i.e. their energy levels are quantised.
height on a ladder
The occupant can only stand at heights where there are rungs on the ladder.
Height is quantised.
digital signals as functions of time
The signal may take on one of the finite number of quantised values, which may change with time in an irregular or regular manner
binary digital signals
a signal which may only have one of two values or states.
In modern digital systems the states are normally represented as HI and LO in logic terms, as 0 Volts and E Volts in electrical terms or as ‘0’ or ‘1’ values in binary arithmetic
no noise present
if no noise is present, the value of the signal at any time can be ascertained and stipulated to any degree of precision required.
error
overall degree of incorrectness in establishing or
measuring value of a signal, process or event.
accuracy
measure of the extremes of the overall error associated with a measurement.
-an indication of limits of confidence we can have in measurements we make.
resolution
measure of the smallest interval with which the event or signal of interest is specified.
In a digital or numerical readout this corresponds to the least significant digit (LSD) + specified in the units in which measurement is made.
resolution and accuracy of measurement
normally resolution is equal to or less than accuracy of the measurement
where measurement errors arise
- electrical interference
- electronic semiconductor noise
- non-linearity of transducers
- manufacturing tolerances
- inaccuracies of instrumentation.
there is also human error but this not what is being
considered here.
positional number system properties
radix
digits
positional weighting
radix
- base/foundation of system
- number of individual numerical symbols/characters present in the system
digits
-Digits of a number system are the individual numerical symbols or characters which make up the system
what does latix mean
Latin meaning ‘root’
binary and decimal system radix
- ten symbols in decimal system, so radix of 10
- 2 symbols on binary system so radix of 2
what does digit mean
Latin meaning ‘finger’
what Bit stands for
‘Binary Digit’
positional weighting
-Positional Number System: several digits combined to form a number which has a value. Each digit in the complete set may be utilised in each position.
-a different weight applies to each position
+ therefore value of the same digit in a diff position is diff
positional weighting in decimal and binary number systems (positioning)
weight is assigned positionally from right to left, in ascending order of exponent powers of the radix.
-significance of the digit increases from
right to left as an increasing power of the radix.
-digits also have an assigned order of increment, with the increments between successive digits being of equal value.
what each weighted position is referred to
referred to as a Decade