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oscilloscopeColumbia Encyclopedia entry: oscilloscope
Oscilloscopeəsĭl'əskōp′, electronic device used to produce visual displays corresponding to electrical signals. Displays of such nonelectrical phenomena as the variations of a sound's intensity can be made if the phenomena are converted into electrical signals. The display is formed by a moving dot on the screen of a cathode-ray tube. For most applications horizontal deflecting circuits move the dot in a repetitive cycle from left to right, and then, very quickly, back to its starting position to begin the next sweep. If during this process the vertical deflecting circuits move the dot up and down in response to the variations of the signal to be observed, a wavelike picture of the signal appears on the screen. An oscilloscope is one of the most valuable tools of an engineer or electronics technician.
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Wikipedia search results for: Oscilloscope
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,. Although an oscilloscope displays voltage on its vertical axis, any other quantity that can be converted to a voltage can be displayed as well. In most instances, oscilloscopes show events that repeat with either no change, or change slowly.
Oscilloscopes are commonly used to observe the exact wave shape of an electrical signal. In addition to the amplitude of the signal, an...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: oscilloscope
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- voltmeter
Voltmeter, instrument used to measure differences of electric potential, commonly called voltage, in volts or units that are multiples or fractions of volts. A voltmeter is usually combined wi...
- cathode-ray tube
Cathode-ray tube, special-purpose electron tube in which electrons are accelerated by high-voltage anodes, formed into a beam by focusing electrodes, and projected toward a phosphorescent scre...
- electron tube
Electron tube, device consisting of a sealed enclosure in which electrons flow between electrodes separated either by a vacuum (in a vacuum tube) or by an ionized gas at low pressure (in a gas...
