I overheard someone speak of rail to rail voltage but I do not understand
what that means. I did a search on the internet but could not come up with
useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
do they mean?

datgrl

"datgrl"
>I overheard someone speak of rail to rail voltage but I do not understand
> what that means. I did a search on the internet but could not come up with
> useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
> do they mean?
>

** Rail = DC supply rail.

If the circuit operates with one supply rail and ground - then ground is
considered to be one of the rails.




.......... Phil

"datgrl" <datgrl@yahoo.notforu.cm> wrote in message
news:Xns9983E3572CE6Adatgrlyahoonotforucm@216.196.97.136...
>I overheard someone speak of rail to rail voltage but I do not understand
> what that means. I did a search on the internet but could not come up with
> useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
> do they mean?

Another name for "rail" is "bus" - the common power
connection that feeds all of the active devices, biasing,
etc. in a circuit. Many types of electronic circuits, and
commonly those analog circuits involving operational
amplifiers ("op amps") and similar components use
symmetric positive and negative suppliers - say, both
+12 VDC and -12VDC, with respect to the circuit
ground - and it's very common to hear of the difference
between these as the "rail to rail" voltage, or how close
the output signals can come to swinging "rail to rail."

Bob M.

datgrl wrote:

> I overheard someone speak of rail to rail voltage but I do not understand
> what that means. I did a search on the internet but could not come up with
> useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
> do they mean?

They mean the DC supply voltage(s).

Graham

On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:19:37 -0500, datgrl <datgrl@yahoo.notforu.cm>
wrote:

>I overheard someone speak of rail to rail voltage but I do not understand
>what that means. I did a search on the internet but could not come up with
>useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
>do they mean?
>
>datgrl

A "rail" here is a power supply. Rail-to-rail just means the full
range of voltages between the most positive and the most negative
power supply voltages present.

Most opamps, for example, if powered from +15 and -15 rails, can't
make outputs that go all the way from +15 to -15... they usually lose
a volt or two on each end. A r-r-output opamp can output almost all
the way.

John

On Aug 6, 10:11 am, John Larkin
<jjlar...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:
> >useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
> >do they mean?
====================================================
In Inter-Modal Transportation, Rail to Rail means a Bus, just like in
electronics. If I wished to travel by rail from City A to City B, I
might have to take the bus in order to resume Rail travel.

On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:12:41 -0700, BobG <bobgardner@aol.com> wrote:

>On Aug 6, 10:11 am, John Larkin
><jjlar...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:
>> >useable information. So in electronics, when someone speaks of "Rail" what
>> >do they mean?
>====================================================
>In Inter-Modal Transportation, Rail to Rail means a Bus, just like in
>electronics. If I wished to travel by rail from City A to City B, I
>might have to take the bus in order to resume Rail travel.

And if it's not fully rail-to-rail, you'd have to walk a mile or two
on each end, between the bus and train stations.

John

"Bob Myers" <nospamplease@address.invalid> wrote in
news:f9640p$i1n$1@usenet01.boi.hp.com:


>
> Another name for "rail" is "bus" - the common power
> connection that feeds all of the active devices, biasing,
> etc. in a circuit. Many types of electronic circuits, and
> commonly those analog circuits involving operational
> amplifiers ("op amps") and similar components use
> symmetric positive and negative suppliers - say, both
> +12 VDC and -12VDC, with respect to the circuit
> ground - and it's very common to hear of the difference
> between these as the "rail to rail" voltage, or how close
> the output signals can come to swinging "rail to rail."
>
> Bob M.
>
>
>

Thanks so much to all. That really helped me understand a whole lot
better.