Compensation (engineering)
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In engineering, compensation is planning for side effects or other unintended issues in a design. The design of an invention can itself also be to compensate for some other existing issue or exception.
One example is in a voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO), which is normally affected not only by voltage, but to a lesser extent by temperature. A temperature-compensated version (a TCVCXO) is designed so that heat buildup within the enclosure of a transmitter or other such device will not alter the piezoelectric effect, thereby causing frequency drift.
Another example is motion compensation on digital cameras and video cameras, which keep a picture steady and not blurry.
Other exmaples in electrical engineering include:
- A constant voltage device compensates for low or high voltage in an electrical circuit, keeping its output the same within a given range of input.
- Error correction compensates for data corruption.
- Gray coding compensates for errors on rotary encoders and linear encoders.
- Debouncing compensates for jitter in an electrical switch.
- A resistor or inductor compensates for negative resistance in gas-discharge lighting.
There are also examples in civil engineering:
- Expansion joints in sidewalks, buildings, and bridges compensate for expansion and contraction.
- Various devices between a structure and its Foundation compensate for earthquake movements, either actively or passively.