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  All
ofthese devices run on electricity and are made up of digital circuits containing
hardware components that manipulate information. This information is in the form
of two signals, ¶0· (which commonly refers to the OFF state) and ¶1· (the ON state),
called binary signals. The operational properties of these digital circuits, which
manipulate binary information, are described through a binary logic system called
Boolean Algebra (named after mathematician George Boole). The purpose of this
paper is to introduce the concept of binary logic in digital circuits and show its
relationship to logic gates and binary signals.

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  If you pull apart a cell phone, you find yourself
with many sub-parts which, when put together in the right sequence forms a
functional phone. Similarly, on a smaller scale, the physical implementation of a
digital circuit consists of several complex elements the most basic of which is a
logic gate. As the name suggests, a logic gate performs a specific logical operation
that, when combined together with other gates, describe the operational
properties of the digital circuit. Logic gates are simple electronic circuits in
themselves, operating on one or more input signals to produce an output signal.

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  Three of the most
basic operations performed by logic gates are the logical AND, OR and NOT
operations. To further understand the logic gate operations below, assume that X
and Y are two binary input variables and Z is the output variable.

 This operation is represented by a dot (.) or the absence of an

operator. For example, Z=X.Y or Z=XY is read as ´Z is equal to X AND Yµ.
The AND operation is interpreted to mean that the output Z=1 if and only
if both X and Y are equal to 1. The logic gate shown on the right performs
the logical AND operation accepting two inputs and producing one output.
Y  This operation is represented by a plus (+) symbol. For example, Z=X+Y
is read as ´Z is equal to X OR Yµ, meaning that Z=1 if either X or Y or both
X and Y are equal to 1. Z=0 if both A and Y equal 0. The logic gate shown on
the right performs the logical OR operation accepting two inputs and
producing one output.

Y{ This operation is represented by a bar over a variable. It performs a

logical inversion, which means it converts binary signal ¶1· to ¶0· and signal ¶0·
to ¶1·. The logic gate shown on the right performs the logical NOT operation,
accepting one input and inverting it to produce an output. Due to its function,
the NOT gate is commonly referred to as ´the inverterµ.

Looking at the logical operations shown above, we realize that binary logic
resembles binary arithmetic in that both AND and OR have similarities to
multiplication and addition, respectively. Another important thing to note is that
the AND and OR gates may have more than two inputs but only one output. The uses
of these gates are seen in everyday life in examples such as ² a supermarket cash
counter which lets you pay by card OR cash, a web login which requires your
UserName AND Password. It is almost incredible to see how almost every appliance
around us today makes use of logic gates.

  
 
  In digital design, engineers often have to build
complicated systems consisting of many circuits and devices. Using logic gates to
build these systems makes the task of designing easier by breaking down the
problem into simple, understandable components. Another major advantage to using
logic gates is that they can be used to store machine data.

 
 
 Since the first machine used to manipulate binary
logic was developed (a calculator known as the Model-K which was the size of a
kitchen table), logic gates have come a long way in realizing lightweight, functional
and efficient devices. There have been speculations that developments in a new
technology called ´Spintronicsµ ² which utilizes the spin properties of electrons to
store data ² could very well be used to make faster logic gates in the future.

  Softpedia, Mano, Kime ² Logic and Computer Design Fundamentals6