DIFFERENTIATOR

a device or set of components for performing the mathematical operation of differentiationi.e., supplying an output proportional to the derivative of the input with respect to one or more variables. The many common examples of mechanical differentiators in which a displacement is differentiated with respect to time include speedometers and generators. In such devices, the derivative is frequently measured by deflections of spring-loaded elements. Electrical differentiating circuit There are also electronic differentiators, or electrical differentiating circuits. The Figure shows a differentiator based on an electrical analog. For a time-varying input, if the capacitive reactance XC shown in the schematic diagram is very large compared with the resistance R, the current, and hence output voltage EOUT appearing across R, will lead the phase of the input voltage EIN by almost 90. Thus the output voltage EOUT is the time derivative of the input voltage EIN, EOUT = dEIN/dt.