Oscilloscope
Electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying voltages as a function of time.
Last updated
Leif Jørgensen · CC BY-SA 4.0
A signal's voltage variations over time are shown graphically by an electronic test instrument known as an oscilloscope.[1] Electrical signal data is obtained by this device for the purposes of troubleshooting, analysis, or characterization.[1] Amplitude, frequency, rise time, time interval, and distortion are among the waveform characteristics that can be examined from the display.[1]
Quick Facts
- Key contributors
- André Blondel, Allen B. DuMont
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Most oscilloscopes are supplied with a probe that connects to any input on the instrument.[1] André Blondel created an electro-mechanical oscillograph in 1893, which enabled early high-speed visualization of electrical voltages.[2] Laboratory measurements using early CRTs began experimentally in the 1920s, but issues with vacuum stability and cathode emitter reliability limited their performance.[3] General Radio was able to produce an oscilloscope suitable for use outside of a lab thanks to this stable component.[1]
Manual measurement against the instrument's built-in screen scales was originally required to determine waveform values.[1] These properties can now be calculated and shown directly by modern digital instruments.[1] A probe's resistor is typically ten times the oscilloscope's input impedance, creating an attenuation factor of 0.1.[1]
What the cited sources add
The 1980 Academic Press publication by Marton covers the CRT's early history and its use in oscilloscopes.[4][3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Oscilloscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kularatna, "Digital and Analogue Instrumentation: Testing and Measurement", Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2003, p. 165–208 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Oscilloscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: How the Cathode Ray Oscillograph Is Used in Radio Servicing , National Radio Institute (1943); "Cathode-Ray Oscillograph 274A Equipment DuMont Labs, Allen B", Radiomuseum.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Oscilloscope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marton, "Advances in electronics and electron physics", Academic Press, 1980, p. CRT (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780120146505 ("Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Oscilloscope (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Oscilloscope (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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