Kwantiseren

Kwantiseren is a Dutch term that translates to "quantization" in English. It refers to the process of restricting a data sample to a finite set of values. In simpler terms, it's about taking continuous or very finely graded data and converting it into discrete steps. Imagine measuring a person's height. In reality, height is a continuous variable, but when we measure it with a ruler marked in centimeters, we are quantizing the height to the nearest centimeter.

This concept is fundamental in many fields, including digital signal processing and physics. In digital audio, for instance, the continuous waveform of sound is sampled at regular intervals, and each sample's amplitude is then quantized to a specific number of discrete levels. The more levels available, the finer the quantization and the more accurately the original signal can be represented. This is often described by the bit depth of the digital audio.

In quantum mechanics, quantization is a core principle, stating that certain physical properties, like energy or momentum, can only take on specific, discrete values, rather than any value within a continuous range. This discreteness is a hallmark of the quantum world and leads to phenomena like atomic orbitals and spectral lines. The term "kwantiseren" thus encapsulates this idea of moving from a continuous spectrum to a set of distinct, measurable steps.