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National Instruments PXI NI 5401 User Manual

Page 49

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Glossary

NI 5401 User Manual

G-2

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B

b

bit—one binary digit, either 0 or 1

B

byte—eight related bits of data, an eight-bit binary number. Also used to
denote the amount of memory required to store one byte of data.

BNC

a type of coaxial signal connector

buffer

temporary storage for acquired or generated data

bus

the group of conductors that interconnect individual circuitry in a computer.
Typically, a bus is the expansion vehicle to which I/O or other devices are
connected. Examples of PC buses are the AT bus (also known as the ISA
bus) and the PCI bus.

C

C

Celsius

CalDAC

calibration DAC

clock

hardware component that controls timing for reading from or writing to
groups

CMOS

complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

continuous trigger mode

repeats a staging list until waveform generation is stopped

counter

a circuit that counts external pulses or clock pulses (timing)

coupling

the manner in which a signal is connected from one location to another

D

DAC

digital-to-analog converter—an electronic device, often an integrated
circuit, that converts a digital number into a corresponding analog voltage
or current

dB

decibel—the unit for expressing a logarithmic measure of the ratio of two
signal levels: dB = 20 log

10

V1/V2, for signals in volts

dBc

decibel referred to carrier level