Sensing the analog world
2. Analog values
We've been talking about the Arduino as a platform to interact with the environment for quite a while now, but so far we have only experimented with digital, two-state control.
Time to open things up!
Digital values are great for a number of things, where the simplicity and elegance of on and off strives.
Analog values, on the other hand, can vary to a range. As humans, we sense the world as a stream of analog signals via sight, hearing etc. By using analog values with the Arduino, we can respond to user input in a complex fashion. You can control the brightness of an LED, setting it to shine brightly, grow dimmer, or show any range of values in between.