Pulse Width measures which aspect of a pulse?

Pulse Width measures which aspect of a pulse?

• A. The energy per pulse
• B. The time between pulses
• C. The time width of an electromagnetic pulse (how long the pulse is on)
• D. The frequency of the emitter

Answer: (C)

Pulse width is the duration of a single pulse—the time the signal is on. That is exactly what “the time width of an electromagnetic pulse (how long the pulse is on)” describes, so it’s the best fit. The energy contained in a pulse depends on both how strong the pulse is and how long it lasts, so it’s not defined by width alone. The time between pulses, or repetition interval, tells you how often pulses occur, not how long each pulse lasts. The emitter’s frequency relates to the carrier or repetition rate, not the pulse duration. For a practical picture, if a pulse lasts 1 microsecond and repeats every 10 microseconds, the pulse width is 1 µs, and the duty cycle is 1 µs / 10 µs = 0.1.

Pulse width is the duration of a single pulse—the time the signal is on. That is exactly what “the time width of an electromagnetic pulse (how long the pulse is on)” describes, so it’s the best fit. The energy contained in a pulse depends on both how strong the pulse is and how long it lasts, so it’s not defined by width alone. The time between pulses, or repetition interval, tells you how often pulses occur, not how long each pulse lasts. The emitter’s frequency relates to the carrier or repetition rate, not the pulse duration. For a practical picture, if a pulse lasts 1 microsecond and repeats every 10 microseconds, the pulse width is 1 µs, and the duty cycle is 1 µs / 10 µs = 0.1.