OSCILLOSCOPE

THE OSCILLOSCOPE IS BASICALLY A GRAPH-DISPLAYING DEVICE. IT DRAWS A GRAPH

OF AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL. IN MOST APPLICATIONS THE GRAPH SHOWS HOW SIGNALS
CHANGE OVER TIME.
A TRANSDUCER IS A DEVICE THAT CREATES AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO
PHYSICAL STIMULI, SUCH AS SOUND, MECHANICAL STRESS, PRESSURE, LIGHT, OR HEAT. FOR
EXAMPLE, A MICROPHONE IS A TRANSDUCER.
IT CAN DETERMINE THE TIME AND VOLTAGE VALUES OF A SIGNAL, CAN CALCULATE
THE FREQUENCY OF AN OSCILLATING SIGNAL, CAN SEE THE "MOVING PARTS" OF A CIRCUIT
REPRESENTED BY THE SIGNAL, CAN TELL IF A MALFUNCTIONING COMPONENT IS
DISTORTING THE SIGNAL, CAN FIND OUT HOW MUCH OF A SIGNAL IS DIRECT CURRENT (DC)
OR ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC), CAN TELL HOW MUCH OF THE SIGNAL IS NOISE AND
WHETHER THE NOISE IS CHANGING WITH TIME.

GROUND

A CONNECTION TO EARTH. FOR MANY ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS THIS IS THE 0V (ZERO

VOLTS) OF THE POWER SUPPLY, BUT FOR MAINS ELECTRICITY AND SOME RADIO CIRCUITS IT
REALLY MEANS THE EARTH. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS GROUND.
IT USED FOR MEASUREMENT PURPOSES, IT SERVES AS A CONSTANT POTENTIAL
REFERENCE AGAINST WHICH OTHER POTENTIALS CAN BE MEASURED. GROUND IS USUALLY
IDEALIZED AS AN INFINITE SOURCE OR SINK FOR CHARGE, WHICH CAN ABSORB AN
UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF CURRENT WITHOUT CHANGING ITS POTENTIAL.
GROUND COMMONLY APPLICATIONS ARE PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES SUCH AS
CELL PHONES AND MEDIA PLAYERS AS WELL AS CIRCUITS IN VEHICLES MAY BE SPOKEN OF
AS HAVING A "GROUND" CONNECTION WITHOUT ANY ACTUAL CONNECTION TO THE
EARTH. THIS IS USUALLY A LARGE CONDUCTOR ATTACHED TO ONE SIDE OF THE POWER
SUPPLY, WHICH SERVES AS THE COMMON RETURN PATH FOR CURRENT FROM MANY
DIFFERENT COMPONENTS IN THE CIRCUIT.

DIRECT CURRENT (DC)

DIRECT CURRENT (DC) IS THE UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW OF ELECTRIC CHARGE. DIRECT

CURRENT IS PRODUCED BY SOURCES SUCH AS BATTERIES, POWER SUPPLIES,
THERMOCOUPLES, SOLAR CELLS, OR DYNAMOS.
DIRECT CURRENT IS USED TO CHARGE BATTERIES AND AS POWER SUPPLY FOR
ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. VERY LARGE QUANTITIES OF DIRECT-CURRENT POWER ARE USED IN
PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM AND OTHER ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSES. IT IS ALSO USED
FOR SOME RAILWAYS, ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS. HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT IS
USED TO TRANSMIT LARGE AMOUNTS OF POWER FROM REMOTE GENERATION SITES OR
TO INTERCONNECT ALTERNATING CURRENT POWER GRIDS.
DC IS USUALLY IMPORTANT TO OBSERVE POLARITY, UNLESS THE DEVICE HAS A
DIODE BRIDGE TO CORRECT FOR THIS. HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT (HVDC) ELECTRIC
POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS USE DC FOR THE BULK TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL
POWER, IN CONTRAST WITH THE MORE COMMON ALTERNATING CURRENT SYSTEMS.
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT USES DC POWER SUPPLY TO
ACHIEVE BY GROUNDING THE POSITIVE TERMINAL OF POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM AND THE
BATTERY BANK. THIS IS DONE TO PREVENT ELECTROLYSIS DEPOSITIONS.

The Difference Between Hot And Cold Resistance

The difference between hot and cold insulation materials comes down to a few things. Firstly,
the materials used in hot insulation covers doesnt require a water vapor barrier that a cold
insulation system needs to properly function. The water vapor barrier helps prevent metal
degradation that can occur overtime.

Buildups of condensation occur within cold systems, which require bendable or flexible
insulation to deal with this issue. Therefore, the types of metal, fiberglass, foam and other
materials used for thermal bridging in cold insulation are much more flexible and moldable than
those found in hot insulation materials.

Lastly, closed cell structure is needed in cold insulation to help avoid wicking. The material in
high temperature insulations allows water to enter because the heat will cause the moisture to
evaporate. However, in a cold insulation system the water will not evaporate. Closed cell
structure of the cold insulation material helps prevent this problem.

Wrapping Up

Once the insulation has been chosen, an exterior jacketing must be picked. When the insulation
is installed properly and to manufactures suggestions, the covering is usually chosen for the
environment it will be exposed to rather than the hot or cold type it is insulating. For interior
components, that will not be walked on or subjected to frequent damage, PVC or silicone is
normally used. For pipes that may be subjected to frequent damage, metal or thicker PVC can
be used.