Differential signaling is a method of transmitting information electrically with two complementary signals sent on two paired wires, called a differential pair. Since external interference tend to affect both wires together, and information is sent only by the difference between the wires, the technique improves resistance to electromagnetic noise compared with use of only one wire and an un-paired reference (ground). The technique can be used for both analog signaling, as in balanced audio, and digital signaling, as in RS-422, RS-485, Ethernet over twisted pair, PCI Express and USB. The opposite technique is called single-ended signaling. Differential pairs are usually found on a printed circuit board, in cables (twisted-pair cables, ribbon cables), and in connectors.
Read more about Differential Signaling: Comparison With Single-ended Signaling, Uses, Transmission Lines, Use in Computers, High-voltage Differential Signaling
Famous quotes containing the word differential:
“But how is one to make a scientist understand that there is something unalterably deranged about differential calculus, quantum theory, or the obscene and so inanely liturgical ordeals of the precession of the equinoxes.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)