Real-time locating system (RTLS) also known as real-time tracking system is the determination of the location of an identified object at an initially unknown location without further determination of the associated orientation. This makes it possible to determine the location and whereabouts of objects, vehicles or people and link them to their identity. Positioning requires a well-defined … [Read more...]
Hardware
Detailed article on computer hardware parts like RAM, Motherboard, Processor, Graphics card. Hardware also covers topics on hardware of Server, Single Board Computers like Raspberry Pi to Libre Hardware Projects.
Bus Terminal Basics
A bus terminal is an advanced terminal block that can process different analog and digital input and output signals. It is housed and wired in a simple and compact way like a conventional terminal block, but unlike the terminal block, it has intelligent electronics. In control cabinets and terminal boxes, bus terminals with bus couplers such as EtherCAT or SERCOS are increasingly being … [Read more...]
What are Neodymium Magnets?
Neodymium magnets use an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron with the composition Nd2Fe14B, from which the strongest permanent magnets are currently produced. It is one of the rare earth magnet materials and was developed in 1982. Rare earth magnets are a group of permanent magnets consisting mainly of ferrous metals (iron, cobalt, nickel) and rare earth metals (neodymium, samarium, praseodymium, … [Read more...]
What is Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a chip that adds basic security functions to a computer or similar device. These functions can be used, for example, for license and data protection. In some respects, the chip behaves like a built-in smart card, but with the important difference that it is not tied to a specific user, but to the local computer. In addition to being used in PCs and notebooks, … [Read more...]
Basics on Insulator
Non-conductors are substances whose electrical conductivity is comparatively low and therefore usually not relevant and is below that of semiconductors. While the term is used in physics for arbitrary materials such as gases and vacuum, in technology it usually only means solids. Other partially synonymous terms are: Insulator: In addition to the material property described here, the term … [Read more...]
Resistance and Electrical Resistors: Part 2
This article is continuation of part 1 of this series. An important material parameter is the resistivity. The best-known resistor design is the cylindrical ceramic carrier with axial connecting wires. These connecting wires are routed through holes in circuit boards, for example, and soldered to the conductor track connections arranged there (through-hole mounting). A ceramic backing is coated … [Read more...]
What is Buffer in Computing
In computer science and telecommunications, buffers are storage devices for the intermediate storage of data. Depending on the task, the buffer can be structured differently. A buffer usually stores the data temporarily, and can be located in volatile or non-volatile memory. Piping and Queueing (FIFO Buffer) Buffers to compensate for differences in processing speed make it … [Read more...]
Resistance and Electrical Resistors: Part I
Electrical resistance is a measure of the electrical voltage required to cause a certain electrical current to flow through an electrical conductor (component, circuit). Uniform quantities should be used or instantaneous values for variables that change over time. If the voltage is counted from a connection point A to a connection point B, the amperage in the conductor is counted positively as it … [Read more...]
What is Tourbillon (Watches)?
The tourbillon is a device in which the oscillation and escapement system of a mechanical watch rotates on its axis in order to achieve less positional accuracy, especially in wristwatches and pocket watches. Due to gravity, the accuracy of conventional watches is not the same in all positions. A tourbillon distributes the effect of gravity on the oscillating system evenly over all positions of at … [Read more...]
What is Binaural Sound Recording?
A binaural sound recording is a sound recording of sound signals with microphones that are intended to create a natural auditory impression with precise directional localization when played back only through headphones. When recording in artificial head stereophony, an artificial head is often used. In the past, the term binaural was often equated with stereo. In general, stereo sound … [Read more...]
Typical Characteristics of RISC Processors
Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a design philosophy for computer processors. The design goal was to dispense with a complex instruction set that was convenient for assembly programming in favor of instructions that were easy to decode and quickly execute. This also allowed for higher clock speeds. The design philosophy opposite to RISC is called the Complex Instruction Set Computer … [Read more...]