Industrial Electronics Glossary

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backplane The back side of a chassis of a PLC rack that provides electrical interconnection between the module and the chassis.

battery backup A battery or set of batteries that will provide power to the memory of PLCs and other processors when the main power is off.

BCD Binary coded decimal. A numbering system used to express individual decimal digits (0-9) in four-bit binary notation.

binary A base 2 numbering system (using only the digits 0-1).

bit Binary digit. The smallest unit of information in the binary numbering system, represented by the digits I and 0.

braking A method of stopping or reducing the time required to stop an ac or dc motor, which can be accomplished in several ways including: dynamic braking, regenerative braking, and friction braking.

brush A carbon conductor that maintains an electrical connection between stationary and moving parts of a motor or generator or other type of rotating machine.

buffer In software terms, a register or group of registers used for temporary storage of data.

bus Single or multiple parallel paths for power or data signals to which several devices may be connected at the same time.

bus topology A topology in which all stations are connected in parallel to a medium. byte A string of eight bits, operated as a unit.

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