Logic

In electronic, a logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing

a Boolean function; that is, it pesrforms a logical operation on one or more
logical inputs, and produces a single logical output. Depending on the
context, the term may refer to an ideal logic gate, one that has for
instance zero rise time and unlimited fan-out, or it may refer to a nonideal physical device for comparison.
Logic gates are primarily implemented using diodes or transistors acting
as electronic switches, but can also be constructed using
electromagnetic relays (relay logic)fluidic logic,
pneumatic, optics, molecules, or even mechanical elements. With
amplification, logic gates can be cascaded in the same way that Boolean
functions can be composed, allowing the construction of a physical model
of all of Boolean logic, and therefore, all of the algorithms
and mathematics that can be described with Boolean logic.
Logic circuits include such devices as multiplexers, registers, arithmetic
logic units (ALUs), and computer memory, all the way up through
complete microprocessors, which may contain more than 100 million
gates. In practice, the gates are made from field-effect transistors (FETs),
particularly MOSFETs (metaloxidesemiconductor field-effect transistors).
Compound logic gates AND-OR-Invert (AOI) and OR-AND-Invert (OAI) are
often employed in circuit design because their construction using MOSFETs
is simpler and more efficient than the sum of the individual gates.
In reversible logic, Toffoli gates are used.
Electronic Gates

Logic family
To build a functionally complete logic system, relays, valves (vacuum
tubes), or transistors can be used. The simplest family of logic gates
using bipolar transistors is called resistor (RTL). Unlike simple diode logic
gates (which do not have a gain element), RTL gates can be cascaded
indefinitely to produce more complex logic functions. RTL gates were used
in early integrated circuits. For higher speed and better density, the
resistors used in RTL were replaced by diodes resulting in diode-transistor
logic (DTL). Transistor-transistor logic (TTL) then supplanted DTL. As
integrated circuits became more complex, bipolar transistors were
replaced with smaller field-effect transistors (MOSFETs);
see PMOS and NMOS. To reduce power consumption still further, most
contemporary chip implementations of digital systems now
use CMOS logic. CMOS uses complementary (both n-channel and pchannel) MOSFET devices to achieve a high speed with low power
dissipation.
For small-scale logic, designers now use prefabricated logic gates from
families of devices such as the TTL 7400 series by Texas Instruments,
the CMOS 4000 series by RCA, and their more recent descendants.

Increasingly, these fixed-function logic gates are being replaced

by programmable logic devices, which allow designers to pack a large
number of mixed logic gates into a single integrated circuit. The fieldprogrammable nature of programmable logic devices such as FPGAs has
removed the 'hard' property of hardware; it is now possible to change the
logic design of a hardware system by reprogramming some of its
components, thus allowing the features or function of a hardware
implementation of a logic system to be changed.
Electronic logic gates differ significantly from their relay-and-switch
equivalents. They are much faster, consume much less power, and are
much smaller (all by a factor of a million or more in most cases). Also,
there is a fundamental structural difference. The switch circuit creates a
continuous metallic path for current to flow (in either direction) between
its input and its output. The semiconductor logic gate, on the other hand,
acts as a high-gain voltage amplifier, which sinks a tiny current at its input
and produces a low-impedance voltage at its output. It is not possible for
current to flow between the output and the input of a semiconductor logic
gate.
Another important advantage of standardized integrated circuit logic
families, such as the 7400 and 4000 families, is that they can be
cascaded. This means that the output of one gate can be wired to the
inputs of one or several other gates, and so on. Systems with varying
degrees of complexity can be built without great concern of the designer
for the internal workings of the gates, provided the limitations of
each integrated circuit are considered.
The output of one gate can only drive a finite number of inputs to other
gates, a number called the 'fanout limit'. Also, there is always a delay,
called the 'propagation delay', from a change in input of a gate to the
corresponding change in its output. When gates are cascaded, the total
propagation delay is approximately the sum of the individual delays, an
effect which can become a problem in high-speed circuits. Additional
delay can be caused when a large number of inputs are connected to an
output, due to the distributed capacitance of all the inputs and wiring and
the finite amount of current that each output can provide.
Symbols

A synchronous 4-bit up/down decade counter symbol (74LS192) in

accordance with ANSI/IEEE Std. 91-1984 and IEC Publication 60617-12.
There are two sets of symbols for elementary logic gates in common use,
both defined in ANSI/IEEE Stud 91-1984 and its supplement ANSI/IEEE
Stud 91a-1991. The "distinctive shape" set, based on traditional
schematics, is used for simple drawings, and derives from MIL-STD-806 of
the 1950s and 1960s. It is sometimes unofficially described as "military",
reflecting its origin. The "rectangular shape" set, based on IEC 60617-12
and other early industry standards, has rectangular outlines for all types
of gate and allows representation of a much wider range of devices than is
possible with the traditional symbols. The IEC's system has been adopted
by other standards, such as EN 60617-12:1999 in Europe and BS EN
60617-12:1999 in the United Kingdom.
The goal of IEEE Stud 91-1984 was to provide a uniform method of
describing the complex logic functions of digital circuits with schematic
symbols. These functions were more complex than simple AND and OR
gates. They could be medium scale circuits such as a 4-bit counter to a
large scale circuit such as a microprocessor. IEC 617-12 and its successor
IEC 60617-12 do not explicitly show the "distinctive shape" symbols, but
do not prohibit them.[3] These are, however, shown in ANSI/IEEE 91 (and
91a) with this note: "The distinctive-shape symbol is, according to IEC
Publication 617, Part 12, not preferred, but is not considered to be in
contradiction to that standard." This compromise was reached between
the respective IEEE and IEC working groups to permit the IEEE and IEC
standards to be in mutual compliance with one another.
A third style of symbols was in use in Europe and is still preferred by
some, see the column "DIN 40700" in the table in the German Wikipedia.
In the 1980s, schematics were the predominant method to design
both circuit boards and custom ICs known as gate arrays. Today custom
ICs and the field-programmable gate array are typically designed
with Hardware Description Languages (HDL) such as Verilog or VHDL.
Type

Distinctive
shape

Rectangular
shape

Boolean algebra
between A & B

Truth table

INPUT OUTPUT

AND

or

&

A AND
B

INPUT OUTPUT
A

B A OR B

OR

INPUT OUTPUT

NOT

NOT A

or ~

In electronics a NOT gate is more commonly called an inverter. The circle

on the symbol is called a bubble, and is used in logic diagrams to indicate
a logic negation between the external logic state and the internal logic
state (1 to 0 or vice versa). On a circuit diagram it must be accompanied
by a statement asserting that the positive logic convention or negative
logic convention is being used (high voltage level = 1 or high voltage

level = 0, respectively). The wedge is used in circuit diagrams to directly

indicate an active-low (high voltage level = 0) input or output without
requiring a uniform convention throughout the circuit diagram. This is
called Direct Polarity Indication. See IEEE Stud 91/91A and IEC 60617-12.
Both the bubble and the wedge can be used on distinctive-shape
and rectangular-shape symbols on circuit diagrams, depending on the
logic convention used. On pure logic diagrams, only the bubble is
meaningful.

INPU
OUTPUT
T

NAN
D

or

A B

A NAND
B

0 0

0 1

1 0

1 1

INPUT OUTPUT

NOR

or

A NOR
B

INPUT OUTPUT

A XOR
B

XOR

INPU
OUTPUT
T

XNO
R

or

A B

A XNOR
B

0 0

0 1

1 0

1 1

Two more gates are the exclusive-OR or XOR function and its inverse,
exclusive-NOR or XNOR. The two input Exclusive-OR is true only when the
two input values are different, false if they are equal, regardless of the
value. If there are more than two inputs, the gate generates a true at its
output if the number of trues at its input is odd .In practice; these gates
are built from combinations of simpler logic gates.
Universal logic gates

The 7400 chip, containing four NANDs. The two additional pins supply
power (+5 V) and connect the ground.
Charles Sanders Peirce (winter of 188081) showed that NOR gates alone
(or alternatively NAND gates alone) can be used to reproduce the
functions of all the other logic gates, but his work on it was unpublished
until 1933.[4] The first published proof was by Henry M. Sheffer in 1913, so
the NAND logical operation is sometimes called Sheffer stroke; the logical
NOR is sometimes called Peirce's arrow. Consequently, these gates are
sometimes called universal logic gates.

De Morgan equivalent symbols

By use of De Morgan's theorem, an AND function is identical to an OR function
with negated inputs and outputs. Likewise, an OR function is identical to
an AND function with negated inputs and outputs. A NAND gate is equivalent to
an OR gate with negated inputs, and a NOR gate is equivalent to an AND gate
with negated inputs. This leads to an alternative set of symbols for basic

gates that use the opposite core symbol (AND or OR) but with the inputs
and outputs negated. Use of these alternative symbols can make logic
circuit diagrams much clearer and help to show accidental connection of
an active high output to an active low input or vice-versa. Any connection
that has logic negations at both ends can be replaced by a negation less
connection and a suitable change of gate or vice-versa. Any connection
that has a negation at one end and no negation at the other can be made
easier to interpret by instead using the De Morgan equivalent symbol at
either of the two ends. When negation or polarity indicators on both ends

of a connection match, there is no logic negation in that path (effectively,

bubbles "cancel"), making it easier to follow logic states from one symbol
to the next. This is commonly seen in real logic diagrams - thus the reader
must not get into the habit of associating the shapes exclusively as OR or
AND shapes, but also take into account the bubbles at both inputs and
outputs in order to determine the "true" logic function indicated.A De
Morgan symbol can show more clearly a gate's primary logical purpose
and the polarity of its nodes that are considered in the "signaled" (active,
on) state. Consider the simplified case where a two-input NAND gate is
used to drive a motor when either of its inputs are brought low by a
switch. The "signaled" state (motor on) occurs when either one OR the
other switch is on. Unlike a regular NAND symbol, which suggests AND
logic, the De Morgan version, a two negative-input OR gate, correctly
shows that OR is of interest. The regular NAND symbol has a bubble at the
output and none at the inputs (the opposite of the states that will turn the
motor on), but the De Morgan symbol shows both inputs and output in the
polarity that will drive the motor. DE Morgan's theorem is not most
commonly used to implement logic gates as combinations of only NAND
gates or as combinations of only NOR gates, for economic reasons.

Three-state logic gates

A tristate buffer can be thought of as a switch. If B is on, the switch is

closed. If B is off, the switch is open.

Tri-state buffer
A three-state logic gate is a type of logic gate that can have three
different outputs: high (H), low (L) and high-impedance (Z). The highimpedance state plays no role in the logic, which is strictly binary. These
devices are used on buses of the CPU to allow multiple chips to send data.
A group of three-states driving a line with a suitable control circuit is
basically equivalent to a multiplexer, which may be physically distributed
over separate devices or plug-in cards.
In electronics, a high output would mean the output is sourcing current
from the positive power terminal (positive voltage). A low output would
mean the output is sinking current to the negative power terminal (zero
voltage). High impedance would mean that the output is effectively
disconnected from the circuit.
History and development

The binary number system was refined by Gottfried Wilhelm

Leibniz (published in 1705) and he also established that by using the
binary system, the principles of arithmetic and logic could be combined. In
an 1886 letter, Charles Sanders Peirce described how logical operations
could be carried out by electrical switching circuits. Eventually, vacuum
tubes replaced relays for logic operations. Lee De Forest's modification, in
1907, of the Fleming valve can be used as AND logic gate. Ludwig
Wittgenstein introduced a version of the 16-row truth table as proposition
5.101 of Tractates Logico-Philosophicus (1921). Walther Bothe, inventor of
the coincidence circuit, got part of the 1954 Nobel Prize in physics, for the
first modern electronic AND gate in 1924. Conrad Zuse designed and built
electromechanical logic gates for his computer Z1 (from 1935
38). Shannon introduced the use of Boolean algebra in the analysis and
design of switching circuits in 1937. Active research is taking place
in molecular logic gates.
Implementations

Unconventional computing
Since the 1990s, most logic gates are made in CMOS technology (i.e.
NMOS and PMOS transistors are used). Often millions of logic gates
are packaged in a single integrated circuit.
There are several logic families with different characteristics (power
consumption, speed, cost, size) such as: RDL (resistor-diode
logic), RTL (resistor-transistor logic), DTL(diode-transistor
logic), TTL (transistor-transistor logic) and CMOS (complementary metal
oxide semiconductor). There are also sub-variants, e.g. standard CMOS
logic vs. advanced types using still CMOS technology, but with some
optimizations for avoiding loss of speed due to slower PMOS transistors.
Non-electronic implementations are varied, though few of them are used
in practical applications. Many early electromechanical digital computers,
such as the Harvard Mark I, were built from relay logic gates, using
electro-mechanical relays. Logic gates can be made
using pneumatic devices, such as the Sorteberg relay or mechanical logic
gates, including on a molecular scale. Logic gates have been made out
of DNA (see DNA nanotechnology) and used to create a computer called
MAYA (see MAYA II). Logic gates can be made from quantum
mechanical effects (though quantum computing usually diverges from
Boolean design). Photonic logic gates use non-linear optical effects.
In principle any method that leads to a gate that is functionally
complete (for example, either a NOR or a NAND gate) can be used to
make any kind of digital logic circuit. Note that the use of 3-state logic for
bus systems is not needed, and can be replaced by digital multiplexers

LOGIC GATES

The switching action of a transistor makes it especially suitable for use in

digital logic circuits where the output is either 0 or 1 depending on the
input. Applications of such circuits are to:
Switch
on
a
water
pump
on
a
hot
sunny
day
Sound an alarm if the pilot light of a boiler went off
Sound an alarm if a burglar stepped on a pressure pad or shone his torch
Switch
a
light
on
if
it
was
a
cloudy
day
Add
two
simple
binary
numbers
together
Switch on a fan if a darkroom door was shut and it was warm inside

All these things and indeed many more can be done with ELECTRONIC
LOGIC CIRCUITS. These circuits are ones that can make decisions.
Different
decisions
need
different
circuits.
If you refer to the switching circuit for the transistor you will see that the
output voltage is high (consider this as 1) when the input voltage is low
(consider this as 0). This is the basic NOT gate - there is an output when
there
is
not
an
input.
Combinations of these switching circuits can be made into logic gates that
will perform simple decisions within a microprocessor. These logic gates
are the basis of all decisions within computers and from now on we will
consider
their
effects
rather
then
their
internal
structure.

We will consider the following types of logic gate:

(a) NOT gate - this gives an output 1 for an input of 0
(b) NOR gate - this gives an output 1 for neither of two inputs 1
(c) OR gate - this gives an output 1 for either of two inputs 1 and both
inputs

(d) AND gate - this gives an output 1 for both two inputs 1
(e) NAND gate - this gives an output I for either but not both of two
inputs
inputs

or

both

(f) EXCLUSIVE-OR - this gives an output I for either

but

not

both

of

two

inputs

(g) EXCLUSIVE-NOR - this gives an output 1 when both inputs are 0 or 1

Because of its wide use in modern digital electronics the NAND gate will
be considered as a basic building block for a variety of logic circuits. In
fact a number of other logic gates can be constructed from NAND gates as

is shown below. The circuit in Figure 1 shows how a NAND gate might be
constructed from discrete components, although it would normally be in
the
form
of
an
integrated
circuit.

There will be a large output voltage across the transistor as long as at

least one of the inputs is made low. ExampleThe hot sunny day
To switch on the pump it must be hot AND sunny. This needs an AND
circuit.

SUMMARY OF THE USE OF THE NAND GATE

One of the most useful circuits in school electronics is the NAND gate and
so we will think about what it does in a little more detail.
(a) it has two inputs - if either (or both) these are 0 then the output is 1
(high) , but if both are 1 the output is 0 (low)
(b) a flying lead (unconnected input) is high (1)
a few milliamps. It will therefore operate a buzzer with difficulty but will
NOT operate a motor (the motor will need hundreds of milliamps)
MAKING OTHER LOGIC GATES FROM NAND GATES
The circuits below show you how to make a NOT, OR, NOR and AND gate
using NAND gates.

Student investigation
Design and construct circuits using NAND gates that will do the following
things:
(a) switch a light on when it gets dark
(b) switch a light on when it gets light
(c) detect when an object is longer than a certain length
(d) switch on a warning light when either of the two front doors of a car
are open
(e) sound a buzzer if there is a person sitting on the front seat of a car and

the ignition key is turned

(f) sound a buzzer when all three coconuts on a coconut shy have been
knocked off
(g) switch a light on if a safe door has been closed but not locked
(h) switch on a buzzer when the temperature of a room falls below a
certain value
Digital signals and gates

While the binary numeration system is an interesting mathematical

abstraction, we haven't yet seen its practical application to electronics.
This chapter is devoted to just that: practically applying the concept of
binary bits to circuits. What makes binary numeration so important to the
application of digital electronics is the ease in which bits may be
represented in physical terms. Because a binary bit can only have one of
two different values, either 0 or 1, any physical medium capable of
switching between two saturated states may be used to represent a bit.
Consequently, any physical system capable of representing binary bits is
able to represent numerical quantities, and potentially has the ability to
manipulate those numbers. This is the basic concept underlying digital
computing.
Electronic circuits are physical systems that lend themselves well to the
representation of binary numbers. Transistors, when operated at their bias
limits, may be in one of two different states: either cutoff (no controlled
current) or saturation (maximum controlled current). If a transistor circuit
is designed to maximize the probability of falling into either one of these
states (and not operating in the linear, or active, mode), it can serve as a
physical representation of a binary bit. A voltage signal measured at the
output of such a circuit may also serve as a representation of a single bit,
a low voltage representing a binary "0" and a (relatively) high voltage
representing a binary "1." Note the following transistor circuit:

In this circuit, the transistor is in a state of saturation by virtue of the

applied input voltage (5 volts) through the two-position switch. Because
its saturated, the transistor drops very little voltage between collector and
emitter, resulting in an output voltage of (practically) 0 volts. If we were
using this circuit to represent binary bits, we would say that the input
signal is a binary "1" and that the output signal is a binary "0." Any
voltage close to full supply voltage (measured in reference to ground, of
course) is considered a "1" and a lack of voltage is considered a "0."
Alternative terms for these voltage levels are high (same as a binary "1")
and low (same as a binary "0"). A general term for the representation of a
binary bit by a circuit voltage is logic level.
Moving the switch to the other position, we apply a binary "0" to the input
and receive a binary "1" at the output:

What we've created here with a single transistor is a circuit generally

known as a logic gate, or simply gate. A gate is a special type of amplifier
circuit designed to accept and generate voltage signals corresponding to
binary 1's and 0's. As such, gates are not intended to be used for
amplifying analog signals (voltage signals between 0 and full voltage).
Used together, multiple gates may be applied to the task of binary
number storage (memory circuits) or manipulation (computing circuits),
each gate's output representing one bit of a multi-bit binary number. Just
how this is done is a subject for a later chapter. Right now it is important
to focus on the operation of individual gates.
The gate shown here with the single transistor is known as an inverter, or
NOT gate, because it outputs the exact opposite digital signal as what is
input. For convenience, gate circuits are generally represented by their
own symbols rather than by their constituent transistors and resistors. The
following is the symbol for an inverter:

An alternative symbol for an inverter is shown here:

Notice the triangular shape of the gate symbol, much like that of an
operational amplifier. As was stated before, gate circuits actually are
amplifiers. The small circle, or "bubble" shown on either the input or

output terminal is standard for representing the inversion function. As you

might suspect, if we were to remove the bubble from the gate symbol,
leaving only a triangle, the resulting symbol would no longer indicate
inversion, but merely direct amplification. Such a symbol and such a gate
actually do exist, and it is called a buffer, the subject of the next section.
Like an operational amplifier symbol, input and output connections are
shown as single wires, the implied reference point for each voltage signal
being "ground." In digital gate circuits, ground is almost always the
negative connection of a single voltage source (power supply). Dual, or
"split," power supplies are seldom used in gate circuitry. Because gate
circuits are amplifiers, they require a source of power to operate. Like
operational amplifiers, the power supply connections for digital gates are
often omitted from the symbol for simplicity's sake. If we were to
show all the necessary connections needed for operating this gate, the
schematic would look something like this:

Power supply conductors are rarely shown in gate circuit schematics, even
if the power supply connections at each gate are. Minimizing lines in our
schematic, we get this:

"Vcc" stands for the constant voltage supplied to the collector of a bipolar
junction transistor circuit, in reference to ground. Those points in a gate
circuit marked by the label "Vcc" are all connected to the same point, and
that point is the positive terminal of a DC voltage source, usually 5 volts.

As we will see in other sections of this chapter, there are quite a few
different types of logic gates, most of which have multiple input terminals
for accepting more than one signal. The output of any gate is dependent
on the state of its input(s) and its logical function.
One common way to express the particular function of a gate circuit is
called a truth table. Truth tables show all combinations of input conditions
in terms of logic level states (either "high" or "low," "1" or "0," for each
input terminal of the gate), along with the corresponding output logic
level, either "high" or "low." For the inverter, or NOT, circuit just
illustrated, the truth table is very simple indeed:

Truth tables for more complex gates are, of course, larger than the one
shown for the NOT gate. A gate's truth table must have as many rows as
there are possibilities for unique input combinations. For a single-input
gate like the NOT gate, there are only two possibilities, 0 and 1. For a two
input gate, there are four possibilities (00, 01, 10, and 11), and thus four
rows to the corresponding truth table. For a three-input gate, there
are eight possibilities (000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, and 111), and
thus a truth table with eight rows are needed. The mathematically inclined
will realize that the number of truth table rows needed for a gate is equal
to 2 raised to the power of the number of input terminals.
Basic Gates and Functions

AND gate

OR gate

NOT gate

NAND gate

NOR gate

EOR gate

ENOR gate

Introduction
Boolean functions may be practically implemented by using electronic
gates. The following points are important to understand.

Electronic gates require a power supply.

Gate INPUTS are driven by voltages having two nominal values, e.g.
0V and 5V representing logic 0 and logic 1 respectively.

The OUTPUT of a gate provides two nominal values of voltage only,

e.g. 0V and 5V representing logic 0 and logic 1 respectively. In
general, there is only one output to a logic gate except in some
special cases.

There is always a time delay between an input being applied and

the output responding.

Truth Tables
Truth tables are used to help show the function of a logic gate. If you are
unsure about truth tables and need guidence on how go about drowning
them for individual gates or logic circuits then use the table section link.

Logic gates
Digital systems are said to be constructed by using logic gates. These

gates are the AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, EXOR and EXNOR gates. The
basic operations are described below with the aid of truth tables.

AND gate

The AND gate is an electronic circuit that gives a high output (1)
only if all its inputs are high. A dot (.) is used to show the AND

operation i.e. A.B. Bear in mind that this dot is sometimes omitted
i.e. AB

OR gate

The OR gate is an electronic circuit that gives a high output (1)

if one or more of its inputs are high. A plus (+) is used to show the
OR operation.

NOT gate

The NOT gate is an electronic circuit that produces an inverted

version of the input at its output. It is also known as an inverter. If
the input variable is A, the inverted output is known as NOT A. This
is also shown as A', or A with a bar over the top, as shown at the
outputs. The diagrams below show two ways that the NAND logic
gate can be configured to produce a NOT gate. It can also be done
using NOR logic gates in the same way.

NAND gate
This is a NOT-AND gate which is equal to an AND gate followed by a
NOT gate. The outputs of all NAND gates are high if any of the
inputs are low. The symbol is an AND gate with a small circle on the
output. The small circle represents inversion.

NOR gate
This is a NOT-OR gate which is equal to an OR gate followed by a
NOT gate. The outputs of all NOR gates are low if any of the inputs
are high.

The symbol is an OR gate with a small circle on the output. The

small circle represents inversion.

EXOR gate
The 'Exclusive-OR' gate is a circuit which will give a high output if
either, but not both, of its two inputs are high. An encircled plus
sign ( ) is used to show the EOR operation.
The 'Exclusive-NOR' gate circuit does the opposite to the EOR
gate. It will give a low output if either, but not both, of its two inputs
are high. The symbol is an EXOR gate with a small circle on the
output. The small circle represents inversion.

The NAND and NOR gates are called universal functions since with
either one the AND and OR functions and NOT can be generated.

Note:
A function in sum of products form can be
implemented using NAND gates by replacing all AND and OR gates
by NAND gates.
A neither function in product of sums form can be implemented
using NOR gates by replacing all AND and OR gates by NOR gates.
Table 1.Logic gate symbol
Table 2.is a summary truth table of the input/output combinations for the NOT gate together
with all possible input/output combinations for the other gate functions. Also note that a truth
table with 'n' inputs has 2n rows. You can compare the outputs of different gates.
Table 2: Logic gates representation using the Truth table

Decimal representation.

Numeral systems by culture

HinduArabic numerals
Western Arabic Eastern Arabic Indian family Bengali Tamil Telugu Burmese
Khmer Lao Mongolian Sinhala Thai

East Asian numerals

Chinese Japanese Suzhou Korean Vietnamese Counting rods

Alphabetic numerals
Abjad Armenian ryabhaa Cyrillic Ge'ez Greek Roman Georgian Hebrew

Other historical systems

Aegean Attic Babylonian Brahmi Egyptian Etruscan Inuit Kharosthi Mayan
Prehistoric numerals Quipu

Positional systems by base

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 24 25 26 27 30 32 36 60 64
85

Non-standard positional numeral systems

Decimal notation

Decimal notation is the writing of numbers in a base-10 numeral system.

Examples are Roman numerals, Brahmi numerals, and Chinese numerals,
as well as the Hindu-Arabic numerals used by speakers of many European
languages. Roman numerals have symbols for the decimal powers (1, 10,
100, 1000) and secondary symbols for half these values (5, 50, 500).
Brahmi numerals have symbols for the nine numbers 19, the nine
decades 1090, plus a symbol for 100 and another for 1000. Chinese
numerals have symbols for 19, and additional symbols for powers of 10,
which in modern usage reach 1044.However, when people who use HinduArabic numerals speak of decimal notation, they often mean not just
decimal numeration, as above, but also decimal fractions, all conveyed as
part of a positional system. Positional decimal systems include a zero and
use symbols (called digits) for the ten values (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and
9) to represent any number, no matter how large or how small. These
digits are often used with a decimal separator which indicates the start of
a fractional part, and with a symbol such as the plus sign + (for positive)

or minus sign (for negative) adjacent to the numeral to indicate whether

it is greater or less than zero, respectively. Positional notation uses
positions for each power of ten: units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. The
position of each digit within a number denotes the multiplier (power of
ten) multiplied with that digiteach position has a value ten times that of
the position to its right. There were at least two presumably independent
sources of positional decimal systems in ancient civilization: the Chinese
counting rod system and the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Ten is the
number which is the count of fingers and thumbs on both hands (or toes
on the feet). The English word digit as well as its translation in many
languages is also the anatomical term for fingers and toes. In English,
decimal (decimus < Lat.) means tenth, decimate means reduce by a
tenth, and denary (denarius < Lat.) means the unit of ten. The symbols for
the digits in common use around the globe today are called Arabic
numerals by Europeans and Indian numerals by Arabs, the two groups'
terms both referring to the culture from which they learned the system.
However, the symbols used in different areas are not identical; for
instance, Western Arabic numerals (from which the European numerals
are derived) differ from the forms used by other Arab cultures.
Decimal fractions

A decimal fraction is a fraction whose denominator is a power of ten.

Decimal fractions are commonly expressed without a denominator, the
decimal separator being inserted into the numerator (with leading zeros
added if needed) at the position from the right corresponding to the power
of ten of the denominator; e.g., 8/10, 83/100, 83/1000, and 8/10000 are
expressed as 0.8, 0.83, 0.083, and 0.0008. In English-speaking, some
Latin American and many Asian countries, a period (.) or raised period ()
is used as the decimal separator; in many other countries, particularly in
Europe, a comma (,) is used.
The integer part, or
integral part of a decimal number is the part to the left of the decimal
separator. The part from the decimal separator to the right is the
fractional part. It is usual for a decimal number that consists only of a
fractional part (mathematically, a proper fraction) to have a leading zero
in its notation (its numeral). This helps disambiguation between a decimal
sign and other punctuation, and especially when the negative number
sign is indicated, it helps visualize the sign of the numeral as a whole.
Trailing zeros after the decimal point are not necessary, although in
science, engineering and statistics they can be retained to indicate a
required precision or to show a level of confidence in the accuracy of the
number: Although 0.080 and 0.08 are numerically equal, in engineering
0.080 suggests a measurement with an error of up to one part in two

thousand (0.0005), while 0.08 suggests a measurement with an error of

up to one in two hundred.
Other rational numbers

Any rational number with a denominator whose only prime factors are 2
and/or 5 may be precisely expressed as a decimal fraction and has a finite
decimal expansion.
1/2 = 0.5
1/20 = 0.05
1/5 = 0.2
1/50 = 0.02
1/4 = 0.25
1/40 = 0.025
1/25 = 0.04
1/8 = 0.125
1/125 = 0.008
1/10 = 0.1
If the rational number's denominator has any prime factors other than 2
or 5, it cannot be expressed as a finite decimal fraction,[4] and has a
unique eventually repeating infinite decimal expansion.
1/3 = 0.333333 (with 3 repeating)
1/9 = 0.111111 (with 1 repeating)
100 1 = 99 = 9 11:
1/11 = 0.090909
1000 1 = 9 111 = 27 37:
1/27 = 0.037037037
1/37 = 0.027027027
1/111 = 0 .009009009
The converse to this observation is that every recurring decimal
represents a rational number p/q. This is a consequence of the fact that

the recurring part of a decimal representation is, in fact, an infinite

geometric series which will sum to a rational number. For instance,
0.0123123123\cdots = \frac{123}{10000} \sum_{k=0}^\infty 0.001^k =
\frac{123}{10000}\ \frac{1}{1-0.001} = \frac{123}{9990} = \frac{41}
{3330}
Real numbers

Decimal representation

Every real number has a (possibly infinite) decimal representation; i.e., it

can be written as
x = \mat hop {\am sign} \sum_{i\in\math Z} a\,10^I Where Sign \in \
{+,-\}, which is related to the sign function, Z is the set of all integers
(positive, negative, and zero), and
ai { 0,1,,9 } for all i Z are its decimal digits, equal to zero for all i
greater than some number (that number being the common logarithm of |
x|).
Such a sum converges as more and more negative values of i are
included, even if there are infinitely many non-zero ai.
Rational numbers (e.g., p/q) with prime factors in the denominator other
than 2 and 5 (when reduced to simplest terms) have a unique recurring
decimal representation.

Non-uniqueness of decimal representation

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Consider those rational numbers which have only the factors 2 and 5 in
the denominator, i.e., which can be written as p/(2a5b). In this case there
is a terminating decimal representation. For instance, 1/1 = 1, 1/2 = 0.5,
3/5 = 0.6, 3/25 = 0.12 and 1306/1250 = 1.0448. Such numbers are the
only real numbers which do not have a unique decimal representation, as
they can also be written as a representation that has a recurring 9, for
instance 1 = 0.99999, 1/2 = 0.499999, etc. The number 0 = 0/1 is
special in that it has no representation with recurring 9.This leaves the
irrational numbers. They also have unique infinite decimal
representations, and can be characterised as the numbers whose decimal
representations neither terminate nor recur.
So in general the decimal representation is unique, if one excludes
representations that end in a recurring 9.

The same tracheotomy holds for other base-n positional numeral systems:
Terminating representation: rational where the denominator divides some
nk

Recurring representation: other rational

Non-terminating, non-recurring representation: irrational
A version of this even holds for irrational-base numeration systems, such
as golden mean base representation.
Decimal computation

Diagram of the world's earliest decimal multiplication table (c. 305 BC)
from the Warring States period
Decimal computation was carried out in ancient times in many ways,
typically in rod calculus, with decimal multiplication table used in ancient
China and with sand tables in India and Middle East or with a variety of
abaci.
Modern computer hardware and software systems commonly use a binary
representation internally (although many early computers, such as the
ENIAC or the IBM 650, used decimal representation internally. For most
purposes, however, binary values are converted to or from the equivalent
decimal values for presentation to or input from humans; computer
programs express literals in decimal by default. (123.1, for example, are
written as such in a computer program, even though many computer
languages are unable to encode that number precisely.)
Both computer hardware and software also use internal representations
which are effectively decimal for storing decimal values and doing
arithmetic. Often this arithmetic is done on data which are encoded using
some variant of binary-coded decimal, especially in database
implementations, but there are other decimal representations in use (such
as in the new IEEE 754 Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic).
Decimal arithmetic is used in computers so that decimal fractional results
can be computed exactly, which is not possible using a binary fractional
representation. This is often important for financial and other calculations.
History

Many ancient cultures calculated from early on with numerals based on

ten: Egyptian hieroglyphs, in evidence since around 3000 BC, used a
purely decimal system,[9][10] just as the Cretan hieroglyphs (ca.

16251500 BC) of the Minoans whose numerals are closely based on the
Egyptian model.[11][12] The decimal system was handed down to the
consecutive Bronze Age cultures of Greece, including Linear A (ca. 18th
century BC1450 BC) and Linear B (ca. 13751200 BC) the number
system of classical Greece also used powers of ten, including, like the
Roman numerals did, an intermediate base of 5.[13] Notably, the
polymath Archimedes (c. 287212 BC) invented a decimal positional
system in his Sand Reckoner which was based on 108[13] and later led
the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss to lament what heights
science would have already reached in his days if Archimedes had fully
realized the potential of his ingenious discovery.[14] The Hittites
hieroglyphs (since 15th century BC), just like the Egyptian and early
numerals in Greece, was strictly decimal.
The Egyptian hieratic numerals, the Greek alphabet numerals, the Roman
numerals, the Chinese numerals and early Indian Brahmi numerals are all
non-positional decimal systems, and required large numbers of symbols.
For instance, Egyptian numerals used different symbols for 10, 20, to 90,
100, 200, to 900, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, to 10,000.[16]

History of decimal fractions

Counting rod decimal fraction 1/7

According to Joseph Needham, decimal fractions were first developed and
used by the Chinese in the 1st century BC, and then spread to the Middle
East and from there to Europe.[17] The written Chinese decimal fractions
were non-positional.[17] However, counting rod fractions were positional.
Qin Jiushao in his book Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections (1247)
denoted 0.96644 by
Counting rod 0.pngCounting rod h9 num.pngCounting rod v6.pngCounting
rod h6.pngCounting rod v4.pngCounting rod h4.png, meaning09664
The Jewish mathematician Immanuel Boils invented decimal fractions
around 1350, anticipating Simon Stevin, but did not develop any notation
to represent them.
The Persian mathematician Jams hid al-Kasha claimed to have discovered
decimal fractions himself in the 15th century, though J. Lennar Berggren
notes that positional decimal fractions were used five centuries before him
by Arab mathematician Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi as early as the 10th
century.

Khwarizmi introduced fractions to Islamic countries in the early 9th

century. . This form of fraction with the numerator on top and the
denominator on the bottom, without a horizontal bar, was also used in the
10th century by Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi and again in the 15th century work
"Arithmetic Key" by Jamshd al-Kasha.[citation needed]

Analog signal

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Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January
2013)

Signal (electronics)
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time
varying feature (variable) of the signal is a representation of some other
time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. For
example, in an analog audio signal, the instantaneous voltage of the
signal varies continuously with the pressure of the sound waves. It differs
from a digital signal, in which a continuous quantity is represented by
a discrete function which can only take on one of a finite number of
values. The term analog signal usually refers to electrical signals;
however, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other systems may also
convey analog signals.
An analog signal uses some property of the medium to convey the signal's
information. For example, an aneroid barometer uses rotary position as
the signal to convey pressure information. In an electrical signal,
the voltage, current, or frequency of the signal may be varied to represent
the information.
Any information may be conveyed by an analog signal; often such a signal
is a measured response to changes in physical phenomena, such
as sound, light, temperature, position, or pressure. The physical variable is
converted to an analog signal by a transducer. For example, in sound
recording, fluctuations in air pressure (that is to say, sound) strike the
diaphragm of a microphone which induces corresponding fluctuations in
the current produced by a coil in an electromagnetic microphone, or the
voltage produced by a condenser microphone. The voltage or the current
is said to be an "analog" of the sound.

An analog signal has a theoretically infinite resolution. In practice an

analog signal is subject to electronic noise and distortion introduced
by communication channels and signal processing operations, which can
progressively degrade the signal-to-noise ratio. In contrast, digital signals
have a finite resolution. Converting an analog signal to digital form
introduces a constant low-level noise called quantization noise into the
signal which determines the noise floor, but once in digital form the signal
can in general be processed or transmitted without introducing additional
noise or distortion. Therefore as analog signal processing systems become
more complex, they may ultimately degrade signal resolution to such an
extent that their performance is surpassed by digital systems. This
explains the widespread use of digital signals in preference to analog in
modern technology. In analog systems, it is difficult to detect when such
degradation occurs. However, in digital systems, degradation can not only
be detected but corrected as well.
Disadvantages

The primary disadvantage of analog signal is that any system has noise
i.e., random unwanted variation. As the signal is copied and re-copied, or
transmitted over long distances, or electronically processed, the
unavoidable noise introduced by each step in the signal path is additive,
progressively degrading the signal-to-noise ratio, until in extreme cases
the signal can be overwhelmed. This is called generation loss. Noise can
show up as 'hiss' and intermodulation distortion in audio signals, or
"snow" in video signals. This degradation is impossible to recover, since
there is no sure way to distinguish the noise from the signal; amplifying
the signal to recover attenuated parts of the signal amplifies the noise
(distortion/interference) as well. Since digital signals can be transmitted,
stored and processed without introducing noise, even if the resolution of
an analog signal is higher than a comparable digital signal, after enough
processing the analog signal to noise ratio will be lower.
Electrically, analog signal noise can be diminished by shielding, good
connections, and several cable types such as coaxial or twisted pair.
Modulation
Another method of conveying an analog signal is to use modulation. In this,
some base signal (e.g., a sinusoidal carrier signal) has one of its properties
modulated: amplitude modulation involves altering the amplitude of a sinusoidal
voltage waveform by the source information, frequency modulation changes
the frequency. Other techniques, such as changing the phase of the base signal
also work.

Analog circuits do not involve quantization of information into digital format. The
concept being measured over the circuit, whether sound, light, pressure,
temperature, or an exceeded limit, remains from end to end.
Digital signal

A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence

of discrete values (a quantified discrete-time signal), for example of an
arbitrary bit stream, or of digitized (sampled and analog-to-digital
converted) analog signal. The term digital signal can refer to either of the
following:
1. any continuous-time waveform signal used in digital communication,
representing a bit stream or other sequence of discrete values
2. a pulse train signal that switches between a discrete number of
voltage levels or levels of light intensity, also known as a line
coded signal or baseband transmission, for example a signal found
in digital electronics or in serial communications, or a pulse code
modulation (PCM) representation of a digitized analog signal.
A signal that is generated by means of a digital modulation method
(digital passband transmission), to be transferred between modems, is in
the first case considered as a digital signal, and in the second case as
converted to an analog signal.
Waveforms in digital systems

A digital signal waveform: (1) low level, (2) high level, (3) rising edge, and
(4) falling edge.
In computer architecture and other digital systems, a waveform that
switches between two voltage levels representing the two states of
a Boolean value (0 and 1) is referred to as a digital signal, even though it
is an analog voltage waveform, since it is interpreted in terms of only two
levels.
The clock signal is a special digital signal that is used
to synchronize digital circuits. The image shown can be considered the

waveform of a clock signal. Logic changes are triggered either by the

rising edge or the falling edge.
The given diagram is an example of the practical pulse and therefore we
have introduced two new terms that are:

Rising edge: the transition from a low voltage (level 1 in the

diagram) to a high voltage (level 2).

Falling edge: the transition from a high voltage to a low one.

Although in a highly simplified and idealized model of a digital circuit we

may wish for these transitions to occur instantaneously, no real world
circuit is purely resistive and therefore no circuit can instantly change
voltage levels. This means that during a short, finite transition time the
output may not properly reflect the input, and indeed may not correspond
to either a logically high or low voltage.

Logic level
The two states of a wire are usually represented by some measurement of
an electrical property: Voltage is the most common, but currentis used in
some logic families. A threshold is designed for each logic family. When
below that threshold, the wire is "low", when above "high." Digital circuits
establish a "no man's area" or "exclusion zone" that is wider than the
tolerances of the components. The circuits avoid that area, in order to
avoid indeterminate results.
It is usual to allow some tolerance in the voltage levels used; for example,
0 to 2 volts might represent logic 0, and 3 to 5 volts logic 1. A voltage of 2
to 3 volts would be invalid, and occur only in a fault condition or during a
logic level transition. However, few logic circuits can detect such a
condition and most devices will interpret the signal simply as high or low
in an undefined or device-specific manner. Some logic devices
incorporate Schmitt trigger inputs whose behaviour is much better defined
in the threshold region, and have increased resilience to small variations
in the input voltage.
The levels represent the binary integers or logic levels of 0 and 1. In
active-high logic, "low" represents binary 0 and "high" represents binary 1.
Active-low logic uses the reverse representation.

Examples of binary logic levels:

Technology

L voltage

H voltage

Notes

CMOS

0 V to VDD/2

VDD/2 to VDD

VDD = supply voltage

TTL

0 V to 0.8 V

2 V to VCC

VCC is 4.75 V to 5.25 V

ECL

-1.175 V to VEE 0.75 V to 0 V VEE is about -5.2 V. VCC=Ground

Logic voltage levels

Hobbyist frequency counter circuit built almost entirely of TTL logic chips.