In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal is a particular type of signal that oscillates between a high and a low state and is utilized like a metronome to coordinate actions of circuits. Although the word signal has a number of other meanings, the term here is used for “transmitted energy that can carry information” (Source: Wikipedia)
Well..I was thinking about how similar a clock signal is to a human heart. I will try to make it short and simple….
The human heart keeps beating or pulsing (pumping blood) at regular instances in time which enables our body and in fact all our organs to get fresh supply of blood (oxygen)… If more oxygen is required by our body (organs) then faster should the heart beat or pump be (eg: any sort of exercise). No heart beat = No Life!
Very similar is a clock signal to a digital circuit. All devices/peripherals (on board or external) are often controlled by a clock signal. Clock provides a time reference and allows devices to sync. Each of the devices perform some sort of operation during each clock pulse. If you might want to have a faster system, then you might as well want to increase the clock frequency. Similarly, No Clock = System not active!
Also worth mentioning that the processor speed in Ghz you hear today, for computer devices, is in fact the clock frequency of the system. This number denotes as to how fast your device would run. Like mentioned above, greater the number (faster frequency), faster is the device. If you got that clock frequency down to near zero, the system is shut down/paused. This principle is used in our computers today to provide the “Power Saving/Stand by” mode. User data contents are loaded into RAM (for retrieval) and the system clock is stopped. All the peripherals inside your device halts, thereby saving power.
Now the next time you hear about Clock Signals..you know what to think of.. Hope this helps.
Well..I was thinking about how similar a clock signal is to a human heart. I will try to make it short and simple….
The human heart keeps beating or pulsing (pumping blood) at regular instances in time which enables our body and in fact all our organs to get fresh supply of blood (oxygen)… If more oxygen is required by our body (organs) then faster should the heart beat or pump be (eg: any sort of exercise). No heart beat = No Life!
Very similar is a clock signal to a digital circuit. All devices/peripherals (on board or external) are often controlled by a clock signal. Clock provides a time reference and allows devices to sync. Each of the devices perform some sort of operation during each clock pulse. If you might want to have a faster system, then you might as well want to increase the clock frequency. Similarly, No Clock = System not active!
Also worth mentioning that the processor speed in Ghz you hear today, for computer devices, is in fact the clock frequency of the system. This number denotes as to how fast your device would run. Like mentioned above, greater the number (faster frequency), faster is the device. If you got that clock frequency down to near zero, the system is shut down/paused. This principle is used in our computers today to provide the “Power Saving/Stand by” mode. User data contents are loaded into RAM (for retrieval) and the system clock is stopped. All the peripherals inside your device halts, thereby saving power.
Now the next time you hear about Clock Signals..you know what to think of.. Hope this helps.
