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What Is a NOR Gate in Simple Terms?

A Nor gate is a logic gate that performs a Boolean operation on its input signals. It is an important building block in digital electronics. Its name means “NOT OR gate”, as it only gives a “true (1)” value when all of its inputs are “false (0)”

A NOR gate has two or more inputs and one output. It works by taking the inputs and producing an output based on their values. If any of the inputs is a “1” (which means electricity is flowing), then the output will be a “0” (which means no electricity is flowing). But if all the inputs are “0”, then the output will be a “1”.

One way to think about a NOR gate is by imagining a light switch. If you have multiple switches controlling a light bulb, the light bulb will only turn off if all the switches are turned on. But if any of the switches are turned off, the light will turn on.

NOR gates are used in many common electronic devices like computers or calculators to perform logical operations and make decisions based on the input values.

Truth Table of a NOR Gate:

A (Input) B (Input) Y (Output)
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

NOR Gate and NAND Gate Truth Tables

NOR gate and NAND gates are two fundamental logic gates used in digital electronics. They have opposite logic behaviors:

  1. NOR Gate (NOT OR):
    • The NOR gate has two inputs, often labeled A and B.
    • It produces an output (Y) that is the opposite of an OR gate.
    • The output is HIGH (1) only when both A and B are LOW (0).
    • In other words, it gives you a 1 if neither A nor B is 1.

    Truth Table:

    A (Input) B (Input) Y (Output)
    0 0 1
    0 1 0
    1 0 0
    1 1 0
  2. NAND Gate (NOT AND):
    • The NAND gate also has two inputs, A and B.
    • It produces an output that is the opposite of an AND gate.
    • The output is LOW (0) only when both A and B are HIGH (1).
    • In other words, it gives you a 0 if at least one of A or B is 0.

    Truth Table:

    A (Input) B (Input) Y (Output)
    0 0 1
    0 1 1
    1 0 1
    1 1 0

In summary:

  • A NOR gate gives a HIGH output only when both inputs are LOW.
  • A NAND gate gives a LOW output only when both inputs are HIGH.

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