Topic 14 - Digital technology Flashcards
Convert between binary numbers and decimal numbers
What is meant the most significant bit and least significant bit in binary numbers?
Most significant bit is the largest power (first number)
Least significant bit is the smallest power (last number)
Describe the function and properties of LPs
- The musical information is stored in a groove cut into the plasit record by a sharp stylus
- The shape of the wiggles in the groove is an analogue representation of the musical signal
- Loud sounds are large wiggles
- Quiet sounds are small wiggles
- The closer together the wiggles are, the higher the frequency of the sound
- The LP is played back by placing another stylus into the groove and rotating the record at constant speed
- The groove spirals inwards so the needle moves faster when it is playing on the edge of the LP
- The groove is more squashed in the centre of the LP
- The stylus vibrates and produces an electrical signal, which is played through an amplifier and speakers
What are the disadvantages of LPs?
- Every time the LP is played, the stylus slightly damages and changes the shape of the groove
- Dust and smoke particles settle in the groove
- These cause unintended vibrations of the stylus
- Unwanted electronig noise is added to the signal, heard as a background hissing sound
- The LP may also bend
Describe the function and properties of cassette tapes
- Music is recorder on a long thin plastic tape coated with a fine powder of magnetic material
- The material becomes magnetised during recording
- A chain of tiny permanent magnets is produced on the tape in a pattern which represents the original sound
- The magnetising is done by the recording head, which consists of a small electromagnet
- The information to be recorded is sent as small, changing magnetic field which magnetises the tape particles in the same pattern as the current in the coil
- To retrieve the information, the tape is pulled past the electromagnet
- The pattern of magnetisation produces a varying magnetic field in the core of the head
- This nduces a varying electric current in the coil
- The current is amplified and output through a loudspeaker
Describe the function and properties of floppy disks
- A magnetic form of data storage
- Data stored in patterns of magnetic particles arranged in concentric rings
- The reader is able to access data on any track without having to search sequentially through the other tracks
- Example of direct access storage devices
What are direct access storage devices?
Storage devices in which bits of data are stored at precise locations, enabling the computer to retrieve information directly without having to scan a series of records
Describe the function and properties of hard disks
- A stack of platters which spin at high speed
- The platters are rigid and coated with iron oxide particles
- A head (electromagnet) has reversible polarity
- The head is used to read and write on the disk surface
- In one polarity the head aligns the magnetism in a tiny area of the disk so that information is stored as binary one (‘on’)
- In the opposite polarity the information acts as a binary zero (‘off’)
- To read the data, the platters spin past the head, which induces a current in the electromagnet
- If dust or smoke gets into the drive, the disk surface becomes irreversibly damaged
Describe the function and properties of CDs
- An optical storage medium
- Data is stored as pits and lands, which are moulded into a thin layer of transparent plastic
- The dents are covered with a thin layer of reflective aluminium
- The pits and lands are arranged one after another in a spiral track, starting from the centre
- The disc rotates at about 500 revolutions per second
- A low power laser beam reads the data with its series of pits and lands
- The pattern of bits forms a coded signal of 16 binary numbers
- Each number represents one feature of the sound wave
- The laser starts reading from the centre and moves outward along a radial line
- There is no mechanical contact between the laser and the CD (no damage done on the CD)
- The laser reads the pits at a constant rate so that it doesn’t misread information
- The rotation of the CD is slowed down as the laser reader moves outward to ensure constant rate
What is an optical storage medium?
A storage device that uses light (laser) to read and/or write data
Describe the function and properties of DVDs
- Similar to CDs
- Capable to store seven times as much data as CDs
- Uses a shorter wavelength laser
- The laser allows smaller pits to be etched on the surface and gives a greater storage capacity
- The track length is twice as long as the track length of CDs
- DVD+R DL is a format that contains two layers of pits (the top layer is semi-reflective allowing light to pass to the bottom layer)
How is the interference of light used to recover information stored on a CD?
- The laser beam is shone on the CD and reflected back onto a detector
- Reflection depends on whether it falls on a pit or a land
- When the laser is entirely incident on a pit or a land, all the waves in the reflected beam are in phase. Constructive interference takes place and a strong signal is detected
- I the laser is on a pit and part on a land, there is path difference between the two parts of the laser beam. Destructive interference occurs and there is no signal produced
- For a laser beam of wavelength λ, the path difference is λ/2
- As the CD rotates, the signal received by the detector changes as the beam travels from pit to land to pit
- This produces digital signals of 1s and 0s varying according to either constructive or destructive interference (also the lengths of the pits and lands)
What is the pit depth on a CD if the path difference is λ/2?
λ/4
What are the advantages of storing information digitally instead of analogically?
- Quality
- Retrieving analogue data affects the quality of the data (LPs, magnetic tapes)
- Retrieving digital data does not degrade the data and the data is identical each time - Reproducibility
- Can be easily copied - Retrieval speed
- Much more rapid than that of analogue data - Portability
- Larger amounts of data can be stored on physically small devices - Manipulation of data
- Can be quickly and cheaply manipulated
What are the moral and ethical implications for society for increasing data storage?
- Issues concerning the privacy and anonymity of personal data
- Issues related to access and ownership of personal data
What is capacitance?
The charge per unit potential difference that can acculumate on a conductor
Unit is the farad (F) (CV–1)
How is the information retrieved from a CCD?
- Pixels are arranged in columns
1. By applying potential difference, the charges in each row are pushed down to the row below called the serial register
2. The packets of charge on the serial register are moved sideways
3. One by one they pass through and amplifier and then to an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC)
4. The process continues until the entire row has been read and converted (called clocking the CCD)
5. The process ir repeated for the next row until the whole array has been processed
6. The pixels can be reused after the data has been read
What is magnification?
The ratio of the length of the image as its formed on the CCD to the actual length of the object.
When are two points on an object just resolved?
When the images of the points on a CCD are at least two pixels apart
Objects are not resolved in and just resolved in b
