Talk:Quantization error
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"Many physical quantities are actually quantized by physical entities. Examples of fields where this limitation applies include electronics (due to electrons), optics (due to photons), and chemistry (due to molecules). This is sometimes known as the "quantum noise limit" of systems in those fields. This is a different manifestation of "quantization error," in which theoretical models may be analog but physics occurs digitally. Around the quantum limit, the distinction between analog and digital quantities vanishes."
- Is that really true, though? Charge is quantized but voltage isn't. — Omegatron 15:53, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
Is there a significant difference between round-off error vs. quantization error, or should they be merged? As far as I know, "round-off error" is applied more to mathematical calculations that *could* be calculated to higher precision, but were rounded off to save time, while "quantization error" is usually applied to actual measurements of the real world (something that cannot possibly be calculated). I think this is only a minor difference that could be mentioned in a sentence or two, in a combined article. --DavidCary 03:54, 18 October 2005 (UTC)
- Well, they are similar, but I don't think they're the same thing. Round-off error inherently uses rounding, while quantization error can be rounding, truncation, etc. (Not sure what it is for floating-point numbers.) Also quantization error is generally found in discussions about sampling theory and the error between internal representation and real-life signals , while round-off error is generally about computations on numbers.
- In other words, in the signal processing realm, quantization error is added to a signal when it is first digitized, and round-off error is added as you do computations on that already-digital signal. Maybe they are the same thing with different names, but I think they are different enough to have different articles. Maybe, maybe not. — Omegatron 14:14, 18 October 2005 (UTC)
