Question

What is a NOT gate (inverter) and its function.

Answer 1

A NOT gate, also known as an inverter, is a fundamental digital logic gate with a single input and a single output. Its function is quite simple: it takes an input signal, which can be either high (logic 1) or low (logic 0), and produces the opposite output.

Here's the truth table for a NOT gate:

Input (A)    Output (NOT A)
0    1
1    0

As you can see, when the input is 0, the output is 1, and when the input is 1, the output is 0. The NOT gate essentially "inverts" the input signal.

The symbol for a NOT gate is usually represented as a triangle with a small circle at its input, and the output is taken from the opposite side of the triangle. This symbol indicates that the gate inverts the input signal.

The NOT gate is a fundamental building block in digital logic circuits and is used in various applications, such as flipping the state of a signal, complementing bits in a binary number, and building more complex logic functions like AND, OR, and NAND gates. It is one of the essential components that make up the foundation of digital electronics and computing.