An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying voltages of one or more signals as a function of time. It is an instrument that graphically displays electrical signals and shows how those signals change over time. Oscilloscopes are commonly used in the sciences, engineering, biomedical, automotive, and telecommunications industry. They are used for capturing information on electrical signals for debugging, analysis, or verification of electronic equipment.
Oscilloscopes are often used when designing, manufacturing, or repairing electronic equipment. Engineers use an oscilloscope to measure electrical phenomena and solve measurement challenges quickly and accurately to verify their designs or confirm that a sensor is working properly. Scientists, engineers, physicists, repair technicians, and educators use oscilloscopes to see signals change over time. An automotive engineer might use an oscilloscope to correlate analog data from sensors with serial data from the engine control unit, while a medical researcher might use an oscilloscope to measure brain waves.
The oldest form of oscilloscope, still used in some labs today, is known as the cathode-ray oscilloscope. It produces an image by causing a focused electron beam to travel, or sweep, in patterns across the face of a cathode ray tube (CRT) . More modern oscilloscopes electronically replicate the action of the CRT using a liquid crystal display (LCD) similar to those found on notebook computers. Most of today’s oscilloscopes are digital devices, which enables more detailed accurate signal measurements and fast calculations, data storage capabilities, and automated analysis.
The main purpose of an oscilloscope is to graph an electrical signal as it varies over time. Most scopes produce a two-dimensional graph with time on the x-axis and voltage on the y-axis. Controls surrounding the scopes screen allow you to adjust the scale of the graph, both vertically and horizontally, allowing you to zoom in and out on a signal. There are also controls to set the trigger on the scope, which helps focus and stabilize the display.
