Analogue Processing: Speed & Efficiency Benefits?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the theoretical advantages of analogue processors over binary processors, particularly regarding speed and efficiency when handling multiple states, such as a hypothetical bit with 100 states. Participants highlight that while analogue processing could improve information transfer, the complexities of representing multiple states—such as using varying voltage levels—could negate these benefits due to increased time for charging capacitors and decoding values. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards the impracticality of achieving significant speed improvements without a detailed implementation strategy.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of analogue vs. digital processing concepts
  • Familiarity with voltage levels and their implications in signal processing
  • Knowledge of ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) and DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) functions
  • Basic principles of FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) architecture
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the differences between analogue and digital signal processing techniques
  • Explore the design and functionality of ADC and DAC systems
  • Study FPGA implementation for analogue processing applications
  • Investigate the theoretical limits of multi-state processing in computing
USEFUL FOR

Engineers, computer scientists, and researchers interested in the performance characteristics of analogue versus digital processing systems, particularly in the context of advanced computing architectures.

Lee
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Would a analogue processor offer significant speed ups on binary processors, on the scales of decimal bits and then if we had a bit with 100 states. I know that for the transfer of information would receive significant improvements but would this also be true for processing information?
 
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The devil is in the details. How do you represent the 100 states? If it is by having 100 different voltage levels then you would need to have a larger voltage swing in order to differentiate between the values. This means more time to charge the caps and more time to decode what value you actually have... etc.

Not so easy when one looks at the details.
 
sounds like a adc to fpga(or other type of gate array) to dac or in other words an asic dsp, they already are analog in a way.
 
Hehehe, my idea is not using voltages. I'm not that silly. I was asking on a purely theoretical basis of having 2 machines that are the same except one works on a binary bit and the other with a decimal bit. Would we have a significant speed up?
 
Would we have a significant speed up?

It is impossible to answer this question without discussing the implementation,but in any case I can imagine the answer is no.
 

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