flipflops

The term flip-flops can refer to two distinct categories of everyday items: open-toed footwear commonly worn in warm weather, and bistable electronic memory elements used in digital circuits.

Footwear flip-flops consist of a flat sole held to the foot by a Y-shaped thong that passes between the big toe and the second toe. They are usually made from rubber, foam, or leather and come in many styles, colors, and thicknesses. They are inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to put on, making them popular for beaches, pools, or casual wear. The design has ancient counterparts in various civilizations, but modern mass-market versions became widespread in the mid-20th century with the production of vulcanized rubber sandals and later synthetic materials. Critics note limited arch support and protection, which can lead to foot fatigue or injuries if worn for extended periods or on uneven terrain. Environmental concerns have grown around disposable or low-durability plastic varieties and microplastic pollution.

In electronics, a flip-flop is a circuit that stores one bit of information and has two stable states. It can be built from transistors, diodes, or relays and is the basic element of sequential logic. Common types include the SR (set–reset) latch, the D (data) flip-flop, the JK, and the T flip-flop. Edge-triggered flip-flops change state on a clock edge and are widely used in registers, counters, and memory circuits inside microprocessors. A simple D flip-flop captures the input value at a clock edge and holds it until the next edge. Flip-flops form the building blocks of finite state machines, enable synchronous data transfer, and organize timing in digital systems. Their design must consider metastability, propagation delay, and power consumption in integrated circuits.