A monostable circuit, or one-shot, remains in a single stable state until triggered by an external signal. Once triggered, it switches to a temporary unstable state for a predetermined duration before automatically returning to its resting state. This behavior is widely used to create fixed-duration pulses, debounce switches, or introduce specific time delays in digital logic.
Heard on the job
Wire up a 555 timer in monostable mode to give us a clean half-second pulse when the button is pressed.
Also heard as
- one-shot
Do not mix it up with
- Astable: A monostable circuit requires a trigger to change states temporarily, whereas an astable circuit continuously oscillates between states with no trigger needed.