Signalwert

Signalwert is a term used in German-speaking technical contexts to denote the magnitude or value of a signal at a given moment. It represents the actual quantity carried by a signal, i.e., the concrete value that is measured, transmitted, or generated, rather than an abstract description or a target value.

In electrical engineering and electronics, the signalwert is typically the instantaneous electrical quantity such as voltage or current. In sensor technology it refers to the sensor output after conversion (for example, a voltage proportional to a physical quantity). In control engineering, the term can describe the current control signal issued to an actuator, and it is often discussed alongside Sollwert (setpoint), which is the desired or target value.

Signals can be continuous in time or discrete (digital). A continuous-time signal has a value s(t) at every time t, while a discrete-time signal has samples s[n] at discrete indices n. The signalwert can be real-valued or, in some applications, complex-valued when the signal carries amplitude and phase information.

Examples include an analog microphone producing a time-varying voltage as the signalwert, or a digitized audio signal where the ADC yields discrete sample values that constitute the signalwerts. In communication systems, the received signalwert may be described by its amplitude, phase, or other modulation parameters.

In summary, the signalwert is the actual, time-containing quantity of a signal in a system, and it is a central concept across measurement, signal processing, sensing, and automation.