[sdiy] Is everything digital?

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Hey Glen,

Nothing to do today, eh?  (c:  Apparently, me too.

I'm no physicist, but isn't this more properly called a "quantum", i.e., the
charge of one electron?  It can be either zero or some very small number
(hence your two states).  That takes nothing from your notion, and I'd agree
that an electrical charge would consist of the sum of the charge quantums. 
And given that, I would say that you're right - in a strange way.  I'm not
sure, however, how useful that is to us, i.e., how can we use one charge
quantum or even know that we have contained exactly one?  The digital world
works by reacting to two well defined states which can be measured with
certainty.  Analog electronics doesn't have any regard for such states, even
if a charge is reduced to a count of charge quanta.  To me, for something to
be "digital" requires that the system can recognize and react to two
different and well defined states.  That is absent in analog electronics. 
So my opinion is that this is a quirky thought experiment, but is not
applicable to the term "digital".  I suppose that the term "analog" really
doesn't apply perfectly either, since there is no way to measure a
fractional electron.

So then how can we ever eliminate the electron quanta zipper noise in a
sawtooth waveform???

Ok, silly mode off now...


Glen <mclilith at charter.net> wrote:
>I know that lots of the elder engineers like to remind the young digital
>whipersnappers that "it's all analog", just to see that puzzled look on
>their faces.  :)
>
>On a certain level, the elder engineers are totally correct, and it's not
>my point to argue that.
>
>However, if voltage is caused by an imbalance of electrons between two
>physical locations, and if electrons are discrete units which can be
>counted, then wouldn't it be reasonable to say there should be a discrete
>number of steps between let's say 1 volt and 2 volts? To go from 1 volt, to
>2 volts, aren't we simply increasing the imbalance of electrons by a
>certain discrete number of electrons? If so, then there are only so many
>different unique voltage levels between 1 and 2 volts. This would make
>voltage purely a digital property.
>
>This brings another disturbing concept:  Can we have things such as a 1/3
>electron? What about a 3.1416.... electron? Aren't they all the same, as
>far as our human minds have been able to differentiate? Can we know for
>certain that "all electrons are created equal"?
>
>
>take care,
>Glen
>

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