Digital circuits

Digital circuits are electric circuits based on discrete voltage levels. Digital circuits use Boolean algebra and are the basis of all digital computers and microprocessor devices. They range from simple logic gates to large integrated circuits, employing millions of such gates.

Digital circuits use a binary system with two voltage levels labelled "0" and "1" to indicated logical status. Often logic "0" will be a lower voltage and referred to as "Low" while logic "1" is referred to as "High". However, some systems use the reverse definition ("0" is "High") or are current based. Quite often the logic designer may reverse these definitions from one circuit to the next as they see fit to facilitate their design. The definition of the levels as "0" or "1" is arbitrary.^[28]

Ternary (with three states) logic has been studied, and some prototype computers made, but have not gained any significant practical acceptance.^[29] Universally, Computers and Digital signal processors are constructed with digital circuits using Transistors such as MOSFETs in the electronic logic gates to generate binary states.