OSCILLOSCOPE

THE OSCILLOSCOPE IS BASICALLY A GRAPH-DISPLAYING DEVICE. IT

DRAWS A GRAPH OF AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL. IN MOST APPLICATIONS THE
GRAPH SHOWS HOW SIGNALS CHANGE OVER TIME.
A TRANSDUCER IS A DEVICE THAT CREATES AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL
IN RESPONSE TO PHYSICAL STIMULI, SUCH AS SOUND, MECHANICAL
STRESS, PRESSURE, LIGHT, OR HEAT. FOR EXAMPLE, A MICROPHONE IS A
TRANSDUCER.
IT CAN DETERMINE THE TIME AND VOLTAGE VALUES OF A SIGNAL,
CAN CALCULATE THE FREQUENCY OF AN OSCILLATING SIGNAL, CAN SEE
THE "MOVING PARTS" OF A CIRCUIT REPRESENTED BY THE SIGNAL, CAN
TELL IF A MALFUNCTIONING COMPONENT IS DISTORTING THE SIGNAL,
CAN FIND OUT HOW MUCH OF A SIGNAL IS DIRECT CURRENT (DC) OR

ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC), CAN TELL HOW MUCH OF THE SIGNAL IS

NOISE AND WHETHER THE NOISE IS CHANGING WITH TIME.

GROUND

A CONNECTION TO EARTH. FOR MANY ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS THIS

IS THE 0V (ZERO VOLTS) OF THE POWER SUPPLY, BUT FOR MAINS
ELECTRICITY AND SOME RADIO CIRCUITS IT REALLY MEANS THE EARTH. IT
IS ALSO KNOWN AS GROUND.
IT USED FOR MEASUREMENT PURPOSES, IT SERVES AS A CONSTANT
POTENTIAL REFERENCE AGAINST WHICH OTHER POTENTIALS CAN BE
MEASURED. GROUND IS USUALLY IDEALIZED AS AN INFINITE SOURCE OR
SINK FOR CHARGE, WHICH CAN ABSORB AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF
CURRENT WITHOUT CHANGING ITS POTENTIAL.
GROUND COMMONLY APPLICATIONS ARE PORTABLE ELECTRONIC
DEVICES SUCH AS CELL PHONES AND MEDIA PLAYERS AS WELL AS
CIRCUITS IN VEHICLES MAY BE SPOKEN OF AS HAVING A "GROUND"

CONNECTION WITHOUT ANY ACTUAL CONNECTION TO THE EARTH. THIS

IS USUALLY A LARGE CONDUCTOR ATTACHED TO ONE SIDE OF THE
POWER SUPPLY, WHICH SERVES AS THE COMMON RETURN PATH FOR
CURRENT FROM MANY DIFFERENT COMPONENTS IN THE CIRCUIT.

DIRECT CURRENT (DC)

DIRECT CURRENT (DC) IS THE UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW OF ELECTRIC

CHARGE. DIRECT CURRENT IS PRODUCED BY SOURCES SUCH AS
BATTERIES, POWER SUPPLIES, THERMOCOUPLES, SOLAR CELLS, OR
DYNAMOS.
DIRECT CURRENT IS USED TO CHARGE BATTERIES AND AS POWER
SUPPLY FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. VERY LARGE QUANTITIES OF DIRECTCURRENT POWER ARE USED IN PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM AND OTHER
ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSES. IT IS ALSO USED FOR SOME RAILWAYS,
ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS. HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT IS USED
TO TRANSMIT LARGE AMOUNTS OF POWER FROM REMOTE GENERATION
SITES OR TO INTERCONNECT ALTERNATING CURRENT POWER GRIDS.
DC IS USUALLY IMPORTANT TO OBSERVE POLARITY, UNLESS THE
DEVICE HAS A DIODE BRIDGE TO CORRECT FOR THIS. HIGH-VOLTAGE
DIRECT CURRENT (HVDC) ELECTRIC POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS USE

DC FOR THE BULK TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL POWER, IN CONTRAST

WITH THE MORE COMMON ALTERNATING CURRENT SYSTEMS. TELEPHONE
EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT USES DC POWER SUPPLY TO
ACHIEVE BY GROUNDING THE POSITIVE TERMINAL OF POWER SUPPLY
SYSTEM AND THE BATTERY BANK. THIS IS DONE TO PREVENT
ELECTROLYSIS DEPOSITIONS.
The Difference Between Hot And Cold Resistance
The difference between hot and cold insulation materials comes down to a
few things. Firstly, the materials used in hot insulation covers doesnt require
a water vapor barrier that a cold insulation system needs to properly
function. The water vapor barrier helps prevent metal degradation that can
occur overtime.

Buildups of condensation occur within cold systems, which require bendable

or flexible insulation to deal with this issue. Therefore, the types of metal,
fiberglass, foam and other materials used for thermal bridging in cold
insulation are much more flexible and moldable than those found in hot
insulation materials.

Lastly, closed cell structure is needed in cold insulation to help avoid wicking.
The material in high temperature insulations allows water to enter because
the heat will cause the moisture to evaporate. However, in a cold insulation
system the water will not evaporate. Closed cell structure of the cold
insulation material helps prevent this problem.

Wrapping Up

Once the insulation has been chosen, an exterior jacketing must be picked.
When the insulation is installed properly and to manufactures suggestions,
the covering is usually chosen for the environment it will be exposed to
rather than the hot or cold type it is insulating. For interior components, that
will not be walked on or subjected to frequent damage, PVC or silicone is

normally used. For pipes that may be subjected to frequent damage, metal
or thicker PVC can be used.