Scribd
Upload
48 views31 pages

Signal: Any Time-Varying Physical Phenomenon That Is Intended To Convey Information Is A Signal

Signals are any time-varying physical phenomena that convey information. Examples include human voice, sign language, voltages on wires, and light intensities. Signals can be continuous-time, occurring at all times, or discrete-time, occurring at discrete points. Signals are operated on by systems to produce output signals. Communication systems transmit signals that may be corrupted by noise. Signals can also be classified as random or non-random, and different types include continuous and discrete signals.

Uploaded by

Pranshu Goyal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
48 views31 pages

Signal: Any Time-Varying Physical Phenomenon That Is Intended To Convey Information Is A Signal

Signals are any time-varying physical phenomena that convey information. Examples include human voice, sign language, voltages on wires, and light intensities. Signals can be continuous-time, occurring at all times, or discrete-time, occurring at discrete points. Signals are operated on by systems to produce output signals. Communication systems transmit signals that may be corrupted by noise. Signals can also be classified as random or non-random, and different types include continuous and discrete signals.

Uploaded by

Pranshu Goyal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 31

Signal

Any time-varying physical phenomenon that is intended to convey


information is a signal.

Examples of signals:
human voice,
sign language,
 Morse code,
traffic signals,
voltages on telephone wires,
electric fields emanating from radio or television
transmitters and variations of light intensity in an optical fiber on a
telephone or computer network.
Noise is like a signal in that it is a time-varying physical phenomenon,
but it usually does not carry useful information and is considered
undesirable
Signals are operated on by systems. When one or more excitations or
input signals are applied at one or more system inputs, the system
produces one or more responses or output signals at its outputs

Block diagram of a single-input, single-output system


In a communication system a transmitter produces a signal and a
receiver acquires it.

A channel is the path a signal takes from a transmitter to a receiver.

Noise is inevitably introduced into the transmitter, channel and


receiver, often at multiple points

A communication system
TYPES OF SIGNALS

There are several broad classifications of signals:


continuous-time, discrete-time,
random and nonrandom

Examples of continuous-time and


discrete-time signals
 A continuous-time signal is defined at every instant of time over
some time interval.

Another common name for some continuous-time signals is


analog signal, in which the variation of the signal with time is
analogous (proportional) to some physical phenomenon.

All analog signals are continuous-time signals but not all


continuous-time signals are analog signals
Sampling a signal is acquiring values from a continuous-time signal
at discrete points in time. The set of samples forms a discrete-time
signal.

A discrete-time signal can also be created by an inherently discrete-


time system that produces signal values only at discrete times
A continuous-time system is a system in which continuous-time input
signals are applied and result in continuous-time output signals

Discrete-time system-that is, a system that transforms discrete-time


inputs into discrete-time output
The Signum Function
For nonzero arguments, the value of the signum function has a
magnitude of one and a sign that is the same as the sign of its
argument

exact mathematical definition

No practical signal can change discontinuously, so if an approximation


of the signum function were generated by a signal generator and viewed on an
oscilloscope it would look like the graph on the right.
The Unit-Step Function
The unit-step function is defined by

Note that the unit step is discontinuous at t = 0 and that the


value at t = 0 is undefined
The Unit- Ramp Function

The unit ramp function (Figure below) is the integral of the unit-step
function. It is called the unit ramp function because, for positive t,
its slope is one amplitude unit per time unit.

The unit-ramp function


The Impulse, the Unit Step and Generalized Derivatives

One way of introducing the unit impulse is to define it as the


derivative of the unit-step function.

Strictly speaking, the derivative of the unit step u(t) is undefined at


t = 0. But consider a function g(t) of time and its time derivative g’(t)
in Figure below

Functions that approach the unit step and unit


impulse
The derivative of g(t) exists for all t except at t = -a/2 and at t = +a/2. As
a approaches zero, the function g(t) approaches the unit step.

In that same limit the nonzero width of the function g’(t) approaches
zero while its area remains the same, one. So g’(t) is a short-duration
pulse whose area is always one, the same as the initial definition of
Δ(t) above, with the same implications.
The limit as a approaches zero of g’ (t) is called the generalized
derivative of u(t). Therefore the unit impulse is the generalized
derivative of the unit step.

The generalized derivative of any function g(t) with a discontinuity


at t = 0 is
The unit step is the integral of the unit impulse

The derivative of the unit step u(t) is zero everywhere except at


t = 0, so the unit impulse is zero everywhere except at t = 0.
Since the unit step is the integral of the unit impulse, a definite
integral of the unit impulse whose integration range includes t = 0
must have the value, one. These two facts are often used to define
the unit impulse.

The area under an impulse is called its strength or sometimes its


weight. An impulse with a strength of one is called a unit impulse.
The Equivalence Property of the Impulse

A common mathematical operation in signal and system analysis is


the product of an impulse with another function, g(t)Aδ(t-t0).
Consider that the impulse Aδ(t-t0) is the limit of a pulse with area
A centered at t = t0, with width a, as a approaches zero

Product of a function g(t) and a rectangular function that becomes an impulse as its
width approaches zero
The product is a pulse whose height at the mid-point is Ag(t0) /a and
whose width is a. As a approaches zero, the pulse becomes an
impulse and the strength of that impulse is Ag(t0) . Therefore

This is sometimes called the equivalence property of the


impulse.
The Sampling Property of the Impulse

Another important property of the unit impulse that follows from


the equivalence property is its sampling property.

According to the equivalence property, the product

Since t0 is one particular value of t, it is a constant and g(t0) is also


a constant and
is called the sampling property of the impulse because in an integral of
this type it samples the value of the function g(t) at time t = t0. (An
older name is sifting property. The impulse “shifts out” the value of
g(t), at time t = t0.)
The Scaling Property of the Impulse

Another important property of the impulse is its scaling property


SHIFTING AND SCALING
AMPLITUDE SCALING

Consider multiplying a function by a constant. This can be indicated


by the notation g(t) → Ag(t) . Thus g(t)→ Ag(t) multiplies g(t) at
every value of t by A. This is called amplitude scaling

A negative amplitude-scaling
factor flips the function vertically.
If the scaling factor is -1 as in this
example, flipping is the only
action.
TIME SHIFTING

The change t → t-1 can be described by saying “for every value of t,


look back one unit in time, get the value of g at that time, and use it
as the value for g(t -1) at time t.” This is called time shifting or time
translation.
Amplitude-scaled and time-shifted unit-step functions
TIME SCALING

Consider next the change of independent variable indicated by t → t


t /a. This expands the function g(t) horizontally by the factor a in
g(t/a) . This is called time scaling

Graph of g(t/2) in relation to g(t) illustrating time scaling


Graph of g(-t/2 ) in relation to g(t) illustrating
time scaling for a negative scaling factor
SIMULTANEOUS SHIFTING AND SCALING

All three function changes, amplitude scaling, time scaling and time
shifting, can be applied simultaneously:

To understand the overall effect, it is usually best to break down a


multiple change into successive simple changes

Observe here that the order of the changes is important. If we


exchange the order of the time-scaling and time-shifting operations
in above Eq. we get
This result is different from the preceding result (unless a = 1 or
t0 = 0).
A sequence of amplitude scaling, time scaling
and time shifting a function
A sequence of amplitude scaling, time
shifting and time scaling a function
EVEN AND ODD SIGNALS
Some functions have the property that, when they undergo certain
types of shifting and/or scaling, the function values do not change.
They are invariant under that shifting and/or scaling.

An even function of t is invariant under time reversal t → -t and an


odd function of t is invariant under the amplitude scaling and time
reversal g(t) → -g(-t)
A simple way of visualizing even and odd functions is to imagine that
the ordinate axis (the g(t) axis) is a mirror. For even functions, the
part of g(t) for t > 0 and the part of g(t) for t < 0 are mirror images of
each other.
For an odd function, the same two parts of the function are negative
mirror images of each other.

Examples of even and odd


functions

Two very common and useful


functions, one even and
one odd
Some functions are even, some are odd and some are neither even
nor odd. But any function g(t) is the sum of its even and odd parts,
g(t)= ge (t)+ go (t). The even and odd parts of a function g(t) are

If the odd part of a function is zero, the function is even, and if


the even part of a function is zero, the function is odd.

You might also like