Industrial Engineer · phase 2 of 16 · noun

Resolution

Smallest input or output change an analog module can represent, commonly specified in bits or counts.

The Explain card

Plain English
Resolution is the smallest change an analog card can tell apart. More bits means more steps across the same range and therefore finer detail.
Example
A 12 bit card splits 0 to 10 V into 4096 steps of roughly two and a half millivolts. A 16 bit card splits the same range into 65536 steps.
Why it matters
A coarse card on a wide range hides small changes a control loop needs to see, so the loop hunts or never settles. Resolution says nothing about accuracy, though, and a card can resolve a thousandth of a volt while being off by a tenth.
Hook
How finely the ruler is marked, and nothing about how straight it is.

Word knowledge

How the word is built, where it came from, and what it sits beside in memory.

In a sentence

During commissioning, the engineer checked whether the 16-bit resolution of the analog input card was adequate for the 4 to 20 mA pressure transmitter.

How it is built
  • re- prefix back or again
  • solut- root loosened or released
  • -ion suffix action, process, or result
Where it came from
Origin
Middle English from Old French resolution and Latin resolutio, from resolvere, meaning to loosen or release
Entered the language
14th century
What changed
The sense moved from loosening or breaking apart to settling a question, distinguishing detail, and expressing measurable fineness.
How it is spelled
Pattern
The ending -tion is spelled t-i-o-n and is commonly pronounced /ʃən/.
Pattern
The sequence -ution also appears in nouns derived from Latin verbs.

Spelled like

  • solution
  • dissolution
  • evolution
Broken into chunks
  • solut
    • solution
    • dissolution
    • absolute
  • ution
    • evolution
    • distribution
    • substitution
What it sits beside

Same subject

  • bit depth
  • analog input
  • quantization
  • counts
  • signal scaling

Same shape

  • solution
  • dissolution
  • absolution

analog module specifications

  • resolution
  • accuracy
  • linearity
  • repeatability

signal conversion terms

Where it sits in the deck

Phase 2: PLC I/O and Field Signals

Where the controller meets the machine: discrete and analog signals, the wiring conventions behind them, and the field devices that send them.

Neighbours in this phase