The term “ground” is one of the most frequently used words in electronics, and it’s also one of its most-often misused and misunderstood terms. Fortunately, in many cases of misuse, the engineers using it know what it actually being referred to, and are able to translate it internally and so avoid negative consequences. However, there […]
What are some specialized op amp variations?
The operation amplifier – commonly called the op amp – is the key building block of analog circuits. In its basic configuration, it is most often used to amplify a signal, of course. It can also be configured to perform mathematical operations such as implementing multiplication or division of two signals, take a square root, […]
What is Proportional (PID) Control and why is it used? (Part 2)
Part 1 of this FAQ looked at the strengths and weaknesses of basic on/off control as well as the performance improvements that the proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm provides. PID analysis PID performance and its setup has been the subject of countless articles, Ph.D. dissertations, tutorials, books, and courses which span qualitative, mostly […]
What is Proportional (PID) Control and why is it used? (Part 1)
Closed-loop control is the foundation of our modern automated world. In simplest terms, this approach applies negative feedback to a system to achieve a desired result. Consider the control of temperature, the most widely measured and controlled real-world physical parameter. If the measured value of this process variable is above the desired setpoint value, we […]
