Analog signals are continuous in time.
A continuous-time signal is an infinite and uncountable
sequence of numbers, as are the possible values each number can have.
- between a start and end time, there are infinite possible values
for time
and the waveform's instantaneous amplitude
.
A continuous signal cannot be stored, or processed, in a computer
since it would require infinite data.
Analog signals must be discretized (digitized) to produce a finite set of numbers for computer use.
``Music 171: Fundamentals of Digital Audio''
by Tamara Smyth,
Department of Music, University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
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Copyright © 2019-10-15 by Tamara Smyth.
Please email errata, comments, and suggestions to Tamara Smyth<trsmyth@ucsd.edu>