Waves and Pulses

Quote of the day:
“The experience of two centuries has shown,...gradualism in theory, is perpetuity in practice.”
--William Lloyd Garrison

Yesterday we mentioned the one part of our increasingly-digital universe that has remained analog: us. Our ears are designed to respond to waves of varying air pressure at frequencies we recognize as sound. Our eyes respond to light waves (and particles, if you’re a physicist).

Because we are analog, the final step in any transmission process must also be analog. This is true even if a CD player or TV screen is reading digital data. At the end of the transmission to us, loudspeakers vibrate to create sound waves, and video screens flicker to create light waves through the air.

You have to admit, one of the true pleasures of being an analog creature is the power we have over digital devices. Even if it’s only to turn them off.