Since the dawn of electricity, analogue technology was all that existed as analogue devices were the first generation of electronic devices to be developed. From the days of Michael Faraday and Nikola Tesla to the light bulb and telephone inventions of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell that revolutionised the modern world, analogue technology has been the at the forefront of what technology represents and has been the main focus of all technological development. Throughout history it has been seen as “he with the best technology has the best possible opportunity to succeed and survive”. This was clearly shown in the times of war. This fact is further emphasised by the boom of technological development that came during the Second World War. As analogue technology was being developed it was realised that it would eventually reach the end of its useful development lifespan and that further avenues of research and development needed to be explored. In the modern age where information is the key to further the development of mankind, it is imperative that this information is properly stored and maintained in an efficient and reliable way. In an attempt to localise and make accessible this much sought-after information, mankind has, over the last 20 years, made quantum leaps forward in an attempt to understand the world of digital electronics. This drive for perfection has led to unparalleled success in technological advancement in all aspects of modern technology. As in the past where this drive was intended to better the lives of humanity as well as to gain an advantage over others, be it in warfare or for economic reasons, such was the drive for digital development with the rise of the information age. It was therefore imperial that mankind strive to further develop reliable, fast and cost-effective means for transmitting, storing and sharing this information and thus digital electronics was born.
With that in mind, a big question that still remains is whether the two vastly different technologies and design techniques can co-exist in this ever-changing, ever-growing world. This leads us to ask the question, is digital electronics leading to the death of analogue electronics?
For many applications, analogue technology is well suited for the task however as the advancement in digital technology moves forward it is becoming increasingly more common to find digital systems replacing their analogue compatriots. Looking at the advantages of such systems we see that in an isolated system analogue signals are much smoother and more natural than their digital copies. An example of such a signal is in the recording industry where analogue recordings have a much purer and warmer sound than that of digital recordings. Furthermore, analogue devices are easier to design from the ground up and are often a lot less sensitive to rough handling and are thus much easier to repair. It is often found that when digital equipment is faulty it is often disposed of rather than repaired as more often than not it is cheaper to replace than to fix. Analogue technology is found in almost all measuring equipment and sensory devices where the reading consists of various floating point values rather than one distinct value. The analogue reading, however, is often converted to digital signals for further processing. As with all things however, both technologies have their respective disadvantages. These disadvantages include the fact that analogue technology requires larger components and is therefore heavy and more costly compared to the smaller, highly efficient digital technologies. Analogue systems, if not properly isolated, can be very susceptible to induced noise. This unwanted noise can cause a variety of problems as it can lead to the signal being unreadable or altered in such a way that it’s integrity as a whole is lost. In digital systems, noise can be easily dealt with and this allows for better signal regeneration and lossless reproduction of information. While analogue systems experience aging, wear and tear and thus information degradation over time, digital systems generally do not. On that point, one of the major benefits of digital systems is that the information stored within them is long lasting and does not degrade in any way over time. Although not perfect, as various external factors can negatively influence the information stored within a digital system if not handled correctly, this has obvious advantages over analogue storage techniques where the continuous playback or retrieval of information degrades the source and certain information is therefore lost over the duration of its life. When compared to the digital equivalent, it is evident that digital technology is gaining a considerable advantage over its analogue compatriots in this field.
With this in mind, the most predominant area where the advantages of employing digital technology is in signal processing. Electronic signals are produced by fluctuating voltages. When an analogue signal is transmitted or reproduced, noise is often introduced into the system. There are various methods employed to counteract, remove or supress this unwanted noise. When a digital signal is transmitted or reproduced, it can be done so without any loss in quality or degradation of the integrity of the original wave. The digital signals resistance to noise is due to the techniques used to produce a digital signal. Instead of the varying voltage wave being transmitted, it is first sampled and converted into a digital wave consisting of high and low values. When this new wave is transmitted, any induced noise is subsequently dealt with. Another method is to use a parity check which will ensure that any noise imposed on the signal does not alter the integrity of the high or low values enough to cause faulty triggering or signal degradation. Digital signals can also be processed by a special device called a DSP, digital signal processor. This unique device reproduces the digital signal removing noise as well as allowing the user to make constructive alterations to the signal in a controlled manner without affecting the overall integrity of the signal. It is thus clear, when we look at the way we communicate, how digital signals carry an advantage over analogue signals. Telephones were among the first devices that used electrical signals to relay information. The first telephones used two conducting cables to transmit the sign and while this worked well at first, as the number of users increased and the distance of transmission increased, it became increasingly more and more difficult to accurately reproduce all the required signals and the system became more and more expensive to run and maintain. That is when the decision was made to find an alternative method of transmission - the solution was found in the form of digital electronics. Digital electronics allowed for millions of signals to be transmitted simultaneously along one single fibre optic cable. This meant that the running and maintenance costs were dramatically reduced and the overall reliability of the system increased.
One place however, that analogue technology still holds an advantage over digital technology, is in human interaction. In order for human and technological interaction to occur e.g. personal computers, vehicles, television sets etc. it is imperative that there is a suitable analogue interface in order to interact with. This is due to the fact that most humans simply cannot interact on an in-depth digital level. This problem arises from the fact that the human brain is trained to process words at a much higher level than what it can process numbers at. Therefore in order to create a viable interface in which humans can communicate with technology, analogue to digital and digital to analogue conversion is required at both the input and output stage respectively. These conversions include keyboard and mouse inputs to the digital information processed by the computer, MP3 files stored on the computer to sound waves emanated from the speaker via a digital to analogue conversion. For assisted steering on a car that adjusts depending on the vehicle’s speed, this information is received via analogue sensors and converted into digital signals in order for the ECU to process before it is then converted back from a digital to analogue signal that adjusts the steering. Without these types of conversions taking place, it would be near impossible for the average human to interact with modern technology.
One of the biggest drawbacks of digital technology however, is that it requires vast amounts of programming and CPU power in order to function fast, reliably and effectively. This lends itself to increasingly more complicated and more sophisticated devices used to deliver better results. While this advancement in technology has its advantages, it also leads to more convoluted and complex solutions to any problems that may occur. Unlike an analogue system that can simply be restarted in the case of an unexpected failure, digital systems often require a more vigorous fault finding procedure in order to prevent the problem from recurring at a later stage. This is attributed to the fact that analogue circuits experience little to no memory effect once disconnected from power. Digital systems however have the ability to log and store information, both correct and incorrect, for an indefinite period of time long after the system has been disconnected from power. It is this memory effect that can lead to embedded problems within the system that are often complicated to resolve and this behaviour often makes interlinking multiple systems together somewhat of a difficulty.
This leads one to another major talking point in the debate of analogue and digital electronic systems: interlinking. Although having multiple systems which all work independently of each other to accomplish a set of predetermined tasks is an important part of our modern world, it is also vital that multiple systems can be interlinked to function as one in order to accomplish a set of tasks such as the way multiple systems are interlinked. Systems like this include: personal computers, vehicles, traffic lights, speed traps etc. Analogue systems requires unique hardware that is designed specifically for the purpose of interlinking two or more systems together. Although effective, this method of interlinking various devices has its shortfalls as there is a limit to the amount of connected devices. It is also not always practical as each device requires its own specific piece of hardware in order to function properly within the system. Digital systems on the other hand, are designed to be interlinked together and used as a system made up of multiple different devices. Digital systems run off an international standard which makes it easier to communicate with multiple devices e.g. mobile phones, USB devices, DMX etc. An example of such interlinking is DMX lighting where DMX stands for digital multiplexing and is done by simply connecting all the components together using a single DMX cable. This allows all the different components in the system to be controlled from a central control hub. This kind of interlinking simply cannot be accomplished by using analogue technology.
The advantages and benefits of digital technology are unparalleled and undeniable. It is not just evident in one or two areas but across a broad spectrum that technological development and more specifically, where digital electronics has filled the gap left by their analogue predecessors, that the use of digital technology is the way forward. Digital technology remains the most power efficient and realistic of the two systems and in this modern day and age which is becoming increasingly more power conscious in an attempt to prevent global warming. With technological development happening at such an alarming rate as all the major technology companies attempt to push their products and their technologies to their outer most limits, the downside to this way forward remains with cost. As new technologies and techniques are developed, the cost of older generation products starts to decrease. However the latest wave of technology continues to empty the pockets of the public. Analogue technology, at least for the foreseeable future, will remain an integral part of the modern day society as it is a key link in terms of human interaction and without the use of analogue technology, humans simply would not be able to interact with the complex systems in place today. As technology advances so must we, as things are changing all around us. With digital technology phasing out the older, more thoroughly proven analogue technology which has reached its limits and digital technology that has only just begun to sprout it’s seemingly endless wings.
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