This is especially usefulīecause you can still adjust the time base and volts per division setting. This tickbox freezes the input allowing you to effectively take a snapshot of what is displayed on the oscilloscope at a given instant in time. Since waveforms come in a wide variety of shapes, amplitudes and frequencies, oscilloscopes need to have a number of controls to adjust the display of the waveform so it can comfortably fit inside the viewport. (Different microphones send different voltages to the computer, so for consistency we have normalised the input so the raw input signal will always be limited to somewhere between -5 and +5 volts.) This will take data from any microphone connected to your computer and display the live audio data.
If you are browsing using the latest version of Google Chrome, the input dropdown box allows you to select 'live input'. (You can also choose to display a square wave.) The frequency of this wave can be adjusted by using the 'Input Wave Frequency' slider. The initial signal above is a 200Hz sine wave, which has an amplitude of 5 volts. This allows you to measure properties of the wave, such as amplitude or frequency.
An oscilloscope is a useful tool for anyone working with electrical signals because it provides a visual representation of the signal's shape, or waveform.
