National Instruments DAQ M Series User Manual
Page 150
Glossary
G-16
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SCXI
Signal Conditioning eXtensions for Instrumentation—The National
Instruments product line for conditioning low-level signals within an
external chassis near sensors so that only high-level signals are sent to DAQ
devices in the noisy PC environment.
sensor
A device that responds to a physical stimulus (heat, light, sound, pressure,
motion, flow, and so on), and produces a corresponding electrical signal.
Primary characteristics of sensors are sensitivity, frequency range, and
linearity.
signal conditioning
1. Electronic equipment that makes transducer or other signals suitable in
level and range to be transmitted over a distance, or to interface with
voltage input instruments.
2. The manipulation of signals to prepare them for digitizing.
signal source
A generic term for any instrument in the family of signal generators.
signals
Signals are waveforms containing information. Although physical signals
can be in the form of mechanical, electromagnetic, or other forms, they are
most often converted to electronic form for measurement.
single trigger mode
When the arbitrary waveform generator goes through the staging list only
once.
single-buffered
Describes a device that acquires a specified number of samples from one or
more channels and returns the data when the acquisition is complete.
single-ended input
A circuit that responds to the voltage on one input terminal and ground.
See also
.
single-ended output
A circuit whose output signal is present between one output terminal and
ground.
software applications
The programs that run on your computer and perform a specific user-
oriented function, such as accounting, program development,
measurement, or data acquisition. In contrast, operating system functions
basically perform the generic ‘housekeeping’ of the machine, which is
independent of any specific application. Operating system functions
include the saving of data (file system), handling of multiple programs at
the same time (multi-tasking), network interconnection, printing, and
keyboard/user interface interaction.