Analogisignaalin

Analogisignaalin is the Finnish genitive form of analogisignaali, meaning “of the analog signal.” In a broader context, the term refers to an analog signal, a continuous-time signal that encodes information by continuously varying amplitude, phase, or frequency. Such signals are used to represent physical quantities like sound, temperature, pressure, or light intensity in real time.

An analog signal differs from a digital signal in that its values are not restricted to discrete steps; it can take a continuum of values within a given range. It is defined over time as a continuous function, and its spectrum can be broad or band-limited depending on the source and system. Analog signals can be baseband or modulated for transmission, and they may be subject to noise, distortion, and attenuation.

Generation and processing of analog signals typically involve sensors or transducers that convert physical quantities into electrical signals, and analog circuitry such as amplifiers, filters, oscillators, and modulators that shape or transmit the signal. In instrumentation and audio, these signals are often observed with equipment like oscilloscopes and voltmeters, and they require careful design to preserve fidelity and dynamic range.

Interfacing analog signals with digital systems requires converters: analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and digital-to-analog converters (DAC). The Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem governs how closely an analog signal can be reconstructed from its digital representation, highlighting trade-offs among sampling rate, resolution, and bandwidth. Analog signals remain fundamental in many areas, including traditional audio, analog telemetry, and sensor networks, where continuous-time processing is advantageous or necessary.