Mason's Rule
Mason's gain formula (MGF) is a method for finding the transfer function of a linear signal-flow graph (SFG). The formula was derived by Samuel Jefferson Mason and is named after its discoverer. MGF is an alternate method to finding the transfer function algebraically by labeling each signal, writing down the equation for how that signal depends on other signals, and then solving the multiple equations for the output signal in terms of the input signal. MGF provides a step by step method to obtain the transfer function from a SFG. Often, MGF can be determined by inspection of the SFG. The method can easily handle SFGs with many variables and loops including loops with inner loops. MGF comes up often in the context of control systems and digital filters because control systems and digital filters are often represented by SFGs.
Read more about Mason's Rule: Formula, Equivalent Matrix Form, Complexity and Computational Applications, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word rule:
“Rules and particular inferences alike are justified by being brought into agreement with each other. A rule is amended if it yields an inference we are unwilling to accept; an inference is rejected if it violates a rule we are unwilling to amend. The process of justification is the delicate one of making mutual adjustments between rules and accepted inferences; and in the agreement achieved lies the only justification needed for either.”
—Nelson Goodman (b. 1906)