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Analog Computer Advantages

Analog computers have three main advantages: 1) they can perform parallel and real-time computations on many signal values simultaneously; 2) they can compute problems without requiring analog to digital conversion; and 3) setting them up provides insight into problems and error effects. However, analog computers have limited accuracy, substantial setup times, and difficulty dealing with problems operating on different time scales. Digital computers now dominate due to lower costs, greater reliability, flexibility, and ability to solve larger problems.

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Mary Grace Salvador
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2K views2 pages

Analog Computer Advantages

Analog computers have three main advantages: 1) they can perform parallel and real-time computations on many signal values simultaneously; 2) they can compute problems without requiring analog to digital conversion; and 3) setting them up provides insight into problems and error effects. However, analog computers have limited accuracy, substantial setup times, and difficulty dealing with problems operating on different time scales. Digital computers now dominate due to lower costs, greater reliability, flexibility, and ability to solve larger problems.

Uploaded by

Mary Grace Salvador
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Analog Computer

Advantages

 Parallel (and real-time) operation--many signal values can


be computed simultaneously
 Computation can be done for some applications without the requirement for
transducers to convert the inputs/outputs to/from digital electronic form
 Setup requires the programmer scale the problem for the dynamic range of the
computer. This can give insight to the problem and the effects of various errors.

Disadvantages

 Computation elements have a limited useful dynamic range, usually not much


more than 120 dB, about 6 significant digits of accuracy.
 Useful solution of problems of any size can take an
inordinate amount of setup time (though modern analog computers have
interfaces that make setup substantially easier than it used to be)
 For a given size (mass) and power consumption, digital computers can solve
larger problems.
 Solutions appear in real (or scaled) time, and may be difficult to record for later
use or analysis
 The range of useful time constants is limited. Problems that have components
operating on vastly different time scales are difficult to deal with accurately

My last exposure to analog computers was almost 40 years ago. Integrated circuits had


barely been invented, and programming was done using patch panels and wires. A
medium sized computer at my school had maybe 20 integrators, and was the size of an
office desk. Problem constants were dialed in using 10-turn potentiometers with a
vernier dial. A lot has changed since then.

Digital Computer
Advantages
 Have made possible many scientific, industrial, and commercial advances that would have
been unattainable otherwise.
 Less expensive
 More reliable
 Easy to manipulate
 Flexibility and Compatibility
 Information storage can be easier in digital computer systems than in analog ones. New
features
 can often be added to a digital system more easily too. 

Disadvantages of digital system:


 Use more energy than analog circuits to accomplish the same tasks, thus producing more
heat as well.
 Digital circuits are often fragile, in that if a single piece of digital data is lost or misinterpreted
the meaning of large blocks of related data can completely change.
 Digital computer manipulates discrete elements of information by means of a binary code.
 Quantization error during analog signal sampling.
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Hybrid Computer

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