bistable, a.
(baɪˈsteɪb(ə)l)
[bi-2.]
Having two stable states.
| 1949 D. Sayre in B. Chance et al. Waveforms v. 164 The basic plate-to-grid-coupled bistable multivibrator is illustrated. Ibid., Bistable circuits have also been called ‘scaling’ circuits, ‘scale-of-two’ circuits, and in England ‘lockover’ circuits. 1951 Wireless Engineer XXVIII. 101/2 Two-position (bistable) trigger circuits. 1952 Proc. Inst. Radio Engineers XL. 1531/2 The operation of this circuit may be monostable, bistable, or astable (oscillatory), depending on the nature of the emitter load. 1962 Gloss. Automatic Data Processing (B.S.I.) 58 Toggle, bistable trigger circuit, a trigger circuit which has two quasi-stable or stable states and which requires an appropriate excitation in each state to cause a transition to the other. 1970 Nature 24 Oct. 319/2 It is, however, possible to obtain bistable switching action in which the device remains indefinitely in the desired ‘on’ or ‘off’ state until specifically switched out of it. |