[sdiy] Is everything digital?

[Scott Gravenhorst]

Glen <mclilith at charter.net> wrote:
>At 11:49 AM 5/14/2005 , Paul Schreiber wrote:
>
>>The prpoer statement is "Everything is quantized." Even "continuous analog" 
>>voltages are quantized, albeit VERY small steps (like 10^-18 V). Even 
>>temperatue 
>>and time are quantized, because nuclear events on which they are based are 
>>themselves quantized.
>>
>>Paul S.
>
>My electronics education taught me that "digital" circuitry had a discrete
>number of normal states (that is, ignoring any malfunction of the
>equipment, etc). By far, the most common digital circuitry in use today is
>binary digital circuitry. There should be no reason we couldn't
>*theoretically* have digital circuitry with a billion possible voltage
>states. I've personally seen trinary digital circuitry, and I'm sure that
>other circuitry has been built with four or more discrete voltage levels. 
>
>So, perhaps "digital" isn't a totally incorrect word? I would agree that
>quantized is also a good term to use.
>
>take care,
>Glen

Except that digital systems react in a predictable manner to the well defined
discrete states.  I see no such dependance in analog systems, regardless of
whether the quantum states are real or theoretical.


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