LECTURE-3: SIGNALS AND
SYSTEMS
SALMAN GHAFOOR
Signal
A signal, as the term implies, is a set of information or data -
examples include a telephone or a television signal
Generally, the signals are functions of the independent variable
time
This is not always the case - When an electrical charge is
distributed over a surface, the signal is the charge density, a
function of space rather than time
We will deal almost exclusively with signals that are functions of
time
What is a System?
A System processes input signals to produce output signals
Examples:
A circuit involving a capacitor can be viewed as a system that
transforms the source voltage (signal) to the voltage (signal)
across the capacitor
A microphone system converts the sound input to an electrical
output signal
A communication system is generally composed of three sub-
systems, the transmitter, the channel and the receiver
How is a System Represented?
A system takes a signal as an input and transforms it into another signal
Input signal Output signal
System
x(t) y(t)
In a very broad sense, a system can be represented as the ratio of the
output signal over the input signal
That way, when we “multiply” the system by the input signal, we get
the output signal
This concept will be discussed in further detail in the coming weeks
SIZE OF A SIGNAL
Size of a Signal - Energy
Generally speaking, a signal varies with time
To set a standard quantity that measures signal strength, we
normally view a signal g(t) as a voltage across a one-ohm resistor
We define signal energy Eg of the signal g(t) as the energy that
the voltage g(t) dissipates on the resistor
More formally, we define Eg for a real signal as:
Complex-valued signal:
Size of a Signal - Power
To be a meaningful measure of signal size, the signal energy must
be finite
A necessary condition for energy to be finite is that the signal
amplitude goes to zero as 𝑡 approaches infinity - otherwise the
integral will not converge
If the amplitude of g(t) does not go to zero as 𝑡 approaches
infinity, the signal energy is infinite
A more meaningful measure of the signal size in such a case
would be the time average of the energy (if it exists)
Size of a Signal - Power
Average power 𝑃𝑔 defined (for a real signal) is given by:
We can generalize this definition for a complex signal g(t) as:
Observe that the signal power 𝑃𝑔 is the time average (mean) of
the signal amplitude square, that is, the mean square value of g(t)
The square root of 𝑃𝑔 is the familiar rms (root mean square) value
of g(t)
Size of a Signal
Signal with finite energy
Signal with finite power
Size of a Signal
The mean of an entity averaged over a large time interval
approaching infinity exists if the entity is either periodic or has a
statistical regularity
If such a condition is not satisfied, an average may not exist
For instance, a ramp signal g(t) = t increases indefinitely as 𝑡 →
∞, and neither the energy, nor the power exists for this signal
Units of Signal Energy and Power
The standard units of signal energy and power are the joule and
watt
However, in practice, it is often customary to use logarithmic
scales to describe signal power
This notation saves the trouble of dealing with many decimal
places when signal power is large or small
As a convention, a signal with average power of P watts can be
said to have power of:
CLASSIFICATION OF SIGNALS
Continuous Time Signals
Most signals in the real world are continuous time as the scale is
infinitesimally fine, for example voltage, velocity…
Denoted by x(t), where the time interval may be bounded (finite)
or infinite
x(t)
t
Discrete-Time Signals
A signal that is specified only at discrete values of time
Some real world and many digital signals are discrete time as
they are sampled, for example pixels, daily stock averages
Denoted by x[n], where n is an integer value that varies
discretely
x[n]
n
Analog and Digital Signals
A signal whose amplitude can take on any value in a continuous
range is an analog signal
This means that an analog signal amplitude can take on an infinite
number of values
A digital signal, on the other hand, is one whose amplitude can take
on only a finite number of values
Signals associated with a digital computer are digital because they
take on only two values (binary signals)
• Sampled continuous signal
x[n] =x(nk), where k is sample time
Analog and Digital Signals
(a)-Analog CT, (b)-Digital CT, (c)-Analog DT, (d)-Digital DT
Periodic and Aperiodic Signals
A signal g(t) is said to be periodic if there exists a positive
constant To such that:
The smallest value of To that satisfies the periodicity condition is
the period of g(t)
g(t) is a periodic signal with fundamental period mTo; where m is
any integer
Energy and Power Signals
A signal with finite energy is an energy signal, and a signal with
finite power is a power signal
A signal g(t) is an energy signal if:
A signal is a power signal if:
Power is time average of the energy - averaging is over an
infinitely large interval, so a signal with finite energy has zero
power, and a signal with finite power has infinite energy
Therefore, a signal cannot be both an energy and a power signal
Deterministic and Random Signals
A signal whose physical description is completely known, either in
a mathematical form or a graphical form is a deterministic signal
A signal that is known only in terms of probabilistic description,
such as mean value, mean square value and distributions is a
random signal
Most of the noise signals encountered in practice are random
signals
All message signals are random signals
Unit Impulse Signal
The unit impulse function 𝛿(𝑡) is one of the most important functions in
the study of signals and systems
Practical impulse is a tall, narrow rectangular pulse of unit area - the
width of this rectangular pulse is a very small value 𝜖; its height is a
very large value 1/𝜖 in the limit as 𝜖 → 0
Sampling property of Unit Impulse
For a continuous function ∅(𝑡):
Meaning the area under the product of a function with an impulse
𝛿(𝑡) is equal to the value of that function at the instant where
the unit impulse is located
This very important and useful property is known as the sampling
(or sifting) property of the unit impulse
Unit Step Function
Often encountered in circuit analysis and defined as:
If we want a signal to start at t = 0 (so that it has a value of zero for t <
0), we need only multiply the signal by u(t)
A signal that starts after t = 0 is called a causal signal, e.g., 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 𝑢(𝑡)
Unit Step Function
We observe that the area from −∞ to t under the limiting form of
𝛿(𝑡) is zero if 𝑡 < 0 and unity if 𝑡 ≥ 0:
From this result, it follows that:
Problem-1
Determine the suitable measures such as energy or power of the
signals below.
2e-t/2
SUMMARY
Signals and systems
Size of a signal
Classification of signals
Continuous and discrete
Analog and digital
Periodic and aperiodic
Energy and power signals
Deterministic and random
Unit impulse and unit step
