Summary
In digital logic, an inverter or NOT gate is a logic gate which implements logical negation. It outputs a bit opposite of the bit that is put into it. The bits are typically implemented as two differing voltage levels. The NOT gate outputs a zero when given a one, and a one when given a zero. Hence, it inverts its inputs. Colloquially, this inversion of bits is called "flipping" bits. As with all binary logic gates, other pairs of symbols such as true and false, or high and low may be used in lieu of one and zero. It is equivalent to the logical negation operator (¬) in mathematical logic. Because it has only one input, it is a unary operation and has the simplest type of truth table. It is also called the complement gate because it produces the ones' complement of a binary number, swapping 0s and 1s. The NOT gate is one of three basic logic gates from which any Boolean circuit may be built up. Together with the AND gate and the OR gate, any function in binary mathematics may be implemented. All other logic gates may be made from these three. The terms "programmable inverter" or "controlled inverter" do not refer to this gate; instead, these terms refer to the XOR gate because it can conditionally function like a NOT gate. The traditional symbol for an inverter circuit is a triangle touching a small circle or "bubble". Input and output lines are attached to the symbol; the bubble is typically attached to the output line. To symbolize active-low input, sometimes the bubble is instead placed on the input line. Sometimes only the circle portion of the symbol is used, and it is attached to the input or output of another gate; the symbols for NAND and NOR are formed in this way. A bar or overline ( ̅ ) above a variable can denote negation (or inversion or complement) performed by a NOT gate. A slash (/) before the variable is also used. An inverter circuit outputs a voltage representing the opposite logic-level to its input. Its main function is to invert the input signal applied. If the applied input is low then the output becomes high and vice versa.
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Related concepts (17)
Boolean algebra
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values true and false, usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas in elementary algebra the values of the variables are numbers. Second, Boolean algebra uses logical operators such as conjunction (and) denoted as ∧, disjunction (or) denoted as ∨, and the negation (not) denoted as ¬.
AND gate
The AND gate is a basic digital logic gate that implements logical conjunction (∧) from mathematical logic - AND gate behaves according to the truth table. A HIGH output (1) results only if all the inputs to the AND gate are HIGH (1). If not all inputs to the AND gate are HIGH, LOW output results. The function can be extended to any number of inputs. There are three symbols for AND gates: the American (ANSI or 'military') symbol and the IEC ('European' or 'rectangular') symbol, as well as the deprecated DIN symbol.
OR gate
The OR gate is a digital logic gate that implements logical disjunction. The OR gate returns true if any of its inputs are true; otherwise it returns false. The input and output states are normally represented by different voltage levels. Any OR gate can be constructed with two or more inputs. It outputs a 1 if any of these inputs are 1, or outputs a 0 only if all inputs are 0. The inputs and outputs are binary digits ("bits") which have two possible logical states.
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