A sequence of events is isochronous if the events occur regularly, or at equal time intervals. The term isochronous is used in several technical contexts, but usually refers to the primary subject maintaining a constant period or interval (the reciprocal of frequency), despite variations in other measurable factors in the same system. Isochronous timing is a characteristic of a repeating event whereas synchronous timing refers to the relationship between two or more events.
In dynamical systems theory, an oscillator is called isochronous if its frequency is independent of its amplitude.
In horology, a mechanical clock or watch is isochronous if it runs at the same rate regardless of changes in its drive force, so that it keeps correct time as its mainspring unwinds or chain length varies. Isochrony is important in timekeeping devices. Simply put, if a power providing device (ie a spring or weight) provides constant torque to the wheel train, it is isochronous (since springs provide weaker power the less pressure is applied it isn't isochronous, but since gravity's force on a mass is constant then it is isochronous).
In electrical power generation, isochronous means that the frequency of the electricity generated is constant under varying load; there is zero generator droop. (See Synchronization (alternating current).)
In telecommunications, an isochronous signal is one where the time interval separating any two corresponding transitions is equal to the unit interval or to a multiple of the unit interval; but phase is arbitrary and potentially varying.
The term is also used in data transmission to describe cases in which corresponding significant instants of two or more sequential signals have a constant phase relationship.
Isochronous burst transmission is used when the information-bearer channel rate is higher than the input data signaling rate.
In the Universal Serial Bus used in computers, isochronous is one of the four data flow types for USB devices (the others being Control, Interrupt and Bulk).
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A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position. When released, the restoring force acting on the pendulum's mass causes it to oscillate about the equilibrium position, swinging back and forth. The time for one complete cycle, a left swing and a right swing, is called the period.
Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, (ˈhaɪɡənz , USˈhɔɪɡənz , ˈkrɪstijaːn ˈɦœyɣə(n)s; also spelled Huyghens; Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. In physics, Huygens made seminal contributions to optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he studied the rings of Saturn and discovered its largest moon, Titan.
An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to the clock's timekeeping element (usually a pendulum or balance wheel) to replace the energy lost to friction during its cycle and keep the timekeeper oscillating. The escapement is driven by force from a coiled spring or a suspended weight, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train.
Since the invention of the pendulum clock by Christiaan Huygens in 1657, precision timekeepers have been regulated by oscillators. Although the pendulum is not an isochronous oscillator, its introduction as a time basis for clock regulation led to a signif ...
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Oscillators have two main limitations: their synchronization properties are limited (i.e., they have a finite synchronization region) and they have no memory of past interactions (i.e., they return to their intrinsic frequency whenever the entraining signa ...
Dark matter (DM) can consist of very light bosons behaving as a classical scalar field that experiences coherent oscillations. The presence of this DM field would perturb the dynamics of celestial bodies, either because the (oscillating) DM stress tensor m ...