Re: What is CW?

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: What is CW?
From: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 02:30:11 -0600
Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com

"Fr. Tom,
With all due respect to you and your great expertise in this area I
offer
this minor correction to your explanation of CW as it is critical in the
understanding of information technology.  CW, by the IEEE Standard,
means
continuous wave, although it is used as a carrier wave in most
communications.  The definition also goes one step further in that it
specifies that each oscillation is identical.  Therefore, there can be
no
variation in amplitude frequency or phase as this would imply
modulation.
And for the originator of this question, modulation is how a continuous
wave
is altered due to the information that is imposed onto(or mixed with)
it.

I hope this helps.


Russ Thornton"

	In the beginning (circa 1904) the distinction was made between
"undamped" or continuous waves, and damped or decaying waves as
generated by spark oscillators of the type which we still use to excite
most of our Tesla coils.  The damped wave consists of a series of RF
pulsels, which decay between sparks in a fashion which depends on the
loaded Q of the oscillating circuit.

Ed