How Digital Oscilloscopes are Changing the World

By: | May 19th, 2016

In the past two to three decades, there have been many advancements in technology that have made our world almost unrecognisable from the one that came before. Nowadays, mobile phones, the internet, inch-thick TVs, and many more items of technology are just commonplace, having changed the world in their own way.

An important tool that has become digitalised in recent years and is slowly changing the world is the digital oscilloscope. Used across many industries, it is set to make many processes far easier and provide a lot more applications in various ways.

What are Digital Oscilloscopes?

Oscilloscopes are used to observe a changing electrical signal over time, usually represented as a 2D graph on the machine’s screen. Analogue oscilloscopes have been providing this service for many years, but as with all things electrical, a digital version has been developed that is starting to take over.

Digital oscilloscopes essentially do the same job, depicting the electrical signals in a graphic illustration. They have more functions than analogue versions, with the ability to display waveforms, store the data, provide waveform processing, analysis, and more. Multiple input slots mean digital oscilloscopes can take readings from numerous devices at the same time.

Where are They Used?

The main industry that uses oscilloscopes is the medical sector. Visit any hospital and you will see some of the newest digital oscilloscopes as their advanced functions are exceptionally useful for saving peoples’ lives. ECG and electrocardiography machines are the main way they are used in hospitals.

Other sectors that use digital oscilloscopes are the world of music, to calculate the vibrating frequency and strength of sound waves. It helps work out the quality of an audio recording, for example. The automobile industry also uses them to measure the structural integrity of vehicles, and scientists use them to measure the intensity of earthquakes.

Future Advancements and Applications

There are already numerous types of digital oscilloscopes being developed, providing a more varied range than just a standard analogue model. This includes oscilloscopes that will fit your price range and application the best, from low to high power models with various functionalities.

Eventually, all analogue oscilloscopes will be replaced with digital versions, as they offer so much more in terms of features. They will also be put to good use in more applications. Plus, further improvements, such as making them smaller, faster, and more accurate, are bound to happen as new models are developed down the line.

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