What kind of data is processed by an analog computer?

Computers are classified by the type of data they process into analog, digital, and hybrid computers. This distinction depends on whether the values being measured or processed change in smooth, unbroken steps or in fixed, separate steps.

An analog computer works with physical quantities that vary continuously, such as temperature, pressure, voltage, or speed. These quantities do not jump from one fixed value to the next; instead, they flow smoothly through every possible value in a range, for example a thermometer's mercury column rising gradually rather than in sudden jumps. Because of this, analog computers are built to measure and process continuously varying data.

Digital computers, by contrast, process discrete data, meaning information broken into distinct, separate values, most commonly represented using binary digits (0s and 1s). "Discretely varying" and "intermittent" both describe data that changes in separate, interrupted steps rather than smoothly, which is the opposite of what analog computers handle.

Exam tip: link the word "analog" with anything that changes smoothly and without interruption, such as sound waves or temperature; link "digital" with anything counted in fixed, separate steps.