Limiting
41314
218690969
2008-06-11T19:21:06Z
Eubot
231599
Hatnote formatting, see [[User:Eubot/Hatnote formatting]]
{{for|limiting related to the Law of the Minimum|limiting factor}}
'''Limiting''': Any process by which a specified characteristic (usually amplitude) of the [[output]] of a device is prevented from exceeding a predetermined value.
Limiting can refer to non-linear [[clipping]], in which a signal is passed through normally but "sheared off" when it would normally exceed a certain threshold. It can also refer to a type of variable-gain [[audio level compression]], in which the gain of an amplifier is changed very quickly to prevent the signal from going over a certain amplitude.
*''Hard limiting'' ("[[clipping (signal processing)|clipping]]")</i> is a limiting action in which there is
**(a) over the permitted [[dynamic range]], negligible variation in the expected characteristic of the output [[Signalling (telecommunication)|signal]], and
**(b) a steady-state signal, at the maximum permitted level, for the duration of each period when the output would otherwise be required to exceed the permitted dynamic range in order to correspond to the [[transfer function]] of the device.
*''Soft limiting'' is limiting in which the transfer function of a device is a function of its instantaneous or integrated output level. The output [[waveform]] is therefore distorted, but not clipped.
{{FS1037C MS188}}
== See also ==
* [[Limiter]]