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GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
PIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:20
mvePIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:20 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
glennPattonWork324-Jul-14 6:27
professionalglennPattonWork324-Jul-14 6:27 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
PIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:30
mvePIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:30 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
CPallini24-Jul-14 6:31
mveCPallini24-Jul-14 6:31 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
PIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:32
mvePIEBALDconsult24-Jul-14 6:32 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
glennPattonWork324-Jul-14 7:50
professionalglennPattonWork324-Jul-14 7:50 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Andy Brummer24-Jul-14 9:50
sitebuilderAndy Brummer24-Jul-14 9:50 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? PinPopular
Andrew Torrance24-Jul-14 6:37
Andrew Torrance24-Jul-14 6:37 
Bits can be stored in many many forms . They can be in the polarisation of light , in magnetic state , by the presence or absence of a stored charge . But in electronics the information is usually transmitted as the presence or absence of a voltage . There is usually a very small current associated with that , we don't want a big current . The values of the voltages used and the corresponding currents are somewhat arbitrary . Some systems represent a 1 as the presence of a specific positive voltage ( typically 3 or 5) and some use 0 volts to represent a boolean 0 . This is not mandatory . It is equally possible to represent a 1 as 0 volts and a 0 as (say) 12volts . And if your system is noisy then some systems will use a positive voltage to represent 1 and a negative voltage to represent 0 . There is no hard and fast rule . Although in most systems +5v => 1 and 0v =>0 .

There can never be an exact 5v or an exact 0v , you will always have noise induced in the circuit from a wide variety of sources . But the entire reason why binary systems are used is that they are able to handle the noise very well . When the noise voltages are in the millivolt range then it is going to take a lot of noise/bad luck for the noise to be so large that we cannot recognise a 1 and a 0 when using 5v systems . BUT it can and does happen, and it gets worse as the data frequency increases . We do get noise and some technologies are more prone than others . In this case we typicaly add extra bits on the side in order to help . These can be simple parity bits or more complex systems where not only can we detect 1 or 2 bit errors but correct them too.

There is nothing stopping you having a system where we use 3 , 4 more voltage levels . And in that way we could have a single line carrying more than one bit of information . But such a system would be more susceptible to noise . In order to reduce the effect of noise you would probably have to slow the data rate .

But you do not have to use simple voltage to transmit information you can do all sorts of fancy manipulation of the frequency and phase of a signal , and these are used in broadband . These can have many possible states , but are also less susceptible to noise , enabling the continued growth in the broad band speeds .

The whole area is fascinating , if you enjoy electronics. But if you don't enjoy electronics and then its probably easier to think that yes 1 is 5v and 0 is 0v and live in blissful ignorance of what is actually happening several billion times a second in your humble pc or phone.
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
glennPattonWork324-Jul-14 7:46
professionalglennPattonWork324-Jul-14 7:46 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Colborne_Greg24-Jul-14 16:15
Colborne_Greg24-Jul-14 16:15 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
kalberts24-Jul-14 21:47
kalberts24-Jul-14 21:47 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Marc Clifton25-Jul-14 4:26
mvaMarc Clifton25-Jul-14 4:26 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Matt McGuire25-Jul-14 4:52
professionalMatt McGuire25-Jul-14 4:52 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Member 376360825-Jul-14 12:24
Member 376360825-Jul-14 12:24 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Kirk Wood27-Jul-14 9:18
Kirk Wood27-Jul-14 9:18 
GeneralRe: Computer Architecture : is 0 really 0 ? Pin
Trevor Marsh30-Jul-14 8:49
Trevor Marsh30-Jul-14 8:49 
GeneralWith yet another plane going missing Pin
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 1:19
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 1:19 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
Nagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:30
professionalNagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:30 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 1:33
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 1:33 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
Nagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:53
professionalNagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:53 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 2:01
P0mpeyBoy24-Jul-14 2:01 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
Nagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 2:09
professionalNagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 2:09 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
glennPattonWork324-Jul-14 1:37
professionalglennPattonWork324-Jul-14 1:37 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
Nagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:51
professionalNagy Vilmos24-Jul-14 1:51 
GeneralRe: With yet another plane going missing Pin
glennPattonWork324-Jul-14 1:58
professionalglennPattonWork324-Jul-14 1:58 

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