reference earth

See also balance, equilibrium. In electronics, a balanced signal is one that is expressed as the difference between two conductors, as opposed to an unbalanced signal that is expressed as the difference between one conductor and a reference earth. Low voltage differential signaling, twin-lead and standard low-impedance microphone cables are all examples of balanced signals. In all three of these applications, noise in a cable run is reduced by the fact that most of the noise is picked up equally by both conductors, and so the signal expressed as the difference between the ...

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