Electronics “on” and “off” States

This episode continues our discussion on the Basics of Digitizing Data. In this episode, you will learn about the electronic circuitry of a computer. At the most basic element within your computer is the switch. It’s on or off, just like the light switch on your wall. On is 1 and off is 0.

Your key takeaways are:

• Computers handle digital signals
• Signals are electrical voltages
• Digital allows us to best represent the real world within a finite machine
• A digital “off” state is represented as 0
• A digital “on” state is represented as 1
• You can combine circuits to achieve a pattern of 1s and 0s

Study Notes

Computer circuitry is digital:

Digital vs. Analog

What is digital?

These are the main distinctions between Analog and Digital signals:

Analog Signals

• Continuous flow of data
• Infinite flow of data
• Proportional to the real world

Digital Signals

• Digital is discrete and finite
• Digital has 2 states

Why Digital?

• Computers can only handle so much information
• Allows the computer to store and process data and instructions
• Breaks up information into separate elements

 

What is an off state and an on state in electronics?

An off state -> 0 (also a “false” state)

An on state -> 1 (also a “true” state)

Convert the following into 1s and 0s:

This is 8 bits, the basics of computer circuitry.