Boolean algebra

In mathematics and computer science, Boolean algebras, or Boolean lattices, are algebraic structures which "capture the essence" of the logical operations AND, OR and NOT as well as the set theoretic operations union,intersection and complement. They are named after George Boole, an Englishman, who first defined them as part of a system of logic in the mid19th century. Specifically, Boolean algebra was an attempt to use algebraic techniques to deal with expressions in the propositional calculus. Today, Boolean algebras find many applications in electronic design. They were first applied to switching by Claude Shannon in the 20th century. The operators of Boolean algebra may be represented in various ways. Often they are simply written as AND, OR and NOT. In describing circuits, NAND (NOT AND), NOR (NOT OR) and XOR (exclusive OR) may also be used. Mathematicians often use + for OR and . for AND (since in some ways those operations are analogous to addition and multiplication in other algebraic structures) and represent NOT by a line drawn above the expression being negated. Here we use another common notation with (or ^ for browsers that don't support the character) for AND, (or v) for OR, and (or ~) for NOT.

Examples
The most important Boolean algebra has only two elements, 0 and 1, and is defined by the rules 0 1 0 1 ---- ---- 0 | 0 1 0 | 0 0 1 | 1 1 1 | 0 1 It has applications in logic, where 0 is interpreted as "false", 1 is "true", is "and", is "or", and is "not". Expressions involving variables and the Boolean operations represent statement forms, and two such expressions can be shown to be equal using the above axioms if and only if the corresponding statement forms are logically equivalent. The two-element Boolean algebra is also used for circuit design in electrical engineering; here 0 and 1 represent the two different states of digital circuits, typically high and low voltage. Circuits are described by expressions containing variables, and two such expressions are equal for all values of the variables if and only if the corresponding circuits have the same input-output behavior. Furthermore, every possible input-output behavior can be modeled by a suitable Boolean expression. The two-element Boolean algebra is also important in the general theory of Boolean algebras, because an equation involving several variables is generally true in all Boolean algebras if and only if it is true in the two-element Boolean algebra (which can always be checked by a trivial brute force algorithm). This can for example be used to show that the following laws (Consensus theorems) are generally valid in all Boolean algebras: (a b) (a c) (b c) = (a b) (a c) (a b) (a c) (b c) = (a b) (a c) The power set of any given set S forms a Boolean algebra with the two operations = union and = intersection. The smallest element 0 is the empty set and the largest element 1 is the set S itself.

For any natural number n, the set of all positive divisors of n forms a distributive lattice if we write a b for a dividesb. This lattice is a Boolean algebra if and only if n is square-free. The smallest element 0 of this Boolean algebra is the natural number 1; the largest element 1 of this Boolean algebra is the natural number n. Other examples of Boolean algebras arise from topological spaces: if X is a topological space, then the collection of all subsets of X which are both open and closed forms a Boolean algebra with the operations = union and = intersection. If R is an arbitrary ring and we define the set of central idempotents by A = { e in R : e2 = e and ex = xe for all x in R } then the set A becomes a Boolean algebra with the operations e f = e + f + ef and e f = ef.

A mathematician named DeMorgan developed a pair of important rules regarding group complementation in Boolean algebra. By group complementation, I'm referring to the complement of a group of terms, represented by a long bar over more than one variable. You should recall from the chapter on logic gates that inverting all inputs to a gate reverses that gate's essential function from AND to OR, or vice versa, and also inverts the output. So, an OR gate with all inputs inverted (a Negative-OR gate) behaves the same as a NAND gate, and an AND gate with all inputs inverted (a Negative-AND gate) behaves the same as a NOR gate. DeMorgan's theorems state the same equivalence in "backward" form: that inverting the output of any gate results in the same function as the opposite type of gate (AND vs. OR) with inverted inputs:

A long bar extending over the term AB acts as a grouping symbol, and as such is entirely different from the product of A and B independently inverted. In other words, (AB)' is not equal to A'B'. Because the "prime" symbol (') cannot be stretched over two variables like a bar can, we are forced to use parentheses to make it apply to the whole term AB in the previous sentence. A bar, however, acts as its own grouping symbol when stretched over

more than one variable. This has profound impact on how Boolean expressions are evaluated and reduced, as we shall see. DeMorgan's theorem may be thought of in terms of breaking a long bar symbol. When a long bar is broken, the operation directly underneath the break changes from addition to multiplication, or vice versa, and the broken bar pieces remain over the individual variables. To illustrate:

When multiple "layers" of bars exist in an expression, you may only break one bar at a time, and it is generally easier to begin simplification by breaking the longest (uppermost) bar first. To illustrate, let's take the expression (A + (BC)')' and reduce it using DeMorgan's Theorems:

Following the advice of breaking the longest (uppermost) bar first, I'll begin by breaking the bar covering the entire expression as a first step:

As a result, the original circuit is reduced to a three-input AND gate with the A input inverted:

BOOLEAN ALGEBRA THEOREMS OBJECTIVE The student will be able to do the following:a. Identify the different Boolean Algebra Theorems and its properties.b. Plot circuits and prove De Morgans Theorem equivalence.c. Construct circuits and prove Distributive Law equivalence.d. Simplify circuit equation by manipulation using boolean equations.Boolean AlgebraBoolean algebra is used for two-valued logic that is present on any digitalsystem. Named after in the honor of English Mathematician George Boole,Boolean algebra describes the interconnection of digital gates and howsimplification can be implemented through its use.Table 1 present the properties of Boolean algebra theorems. The firstthree theorems state the properties of Boolean operations AND, OR, andNOT. Theorem 3a states ORing logic-1 with anything will always result alogic-1.Idempotent law (fourth theorem) states that repetitions of variables inan expression are redundant and may be deleted.Involution law produces a cancellation effect when doublecomplementation occurs as stated on Theorem 6.

Page 2 of 7 Interchanging the order of variables does not change the result of theoperation as stated in Commutative law. Theorems 8 and 9 showsimplification of Boolean expression. De Morgans law the effect of complementation on variables when connected by the AND and ORoperations.Any order in groupings can be applied using Associative law whenANDing and ORing of variables. Distributive law shows how factoring isdone using the same principle in algebra.Take note of the symmetrical property of Boolean algebra equations.This is known as the principle of duality . AND and OR operation (and viceversa) can be interchanged on each occurrence.Equation ComplementationThe complement of an equation is obtained by the interchange of 1s to 0sand 0s to 1s. To achieve this, we can apply algebraically by using DeMorgans theorem. The generalized form of this law states that thecomplement of an expression is obtained by interchanging AND and ORoperations and complementing each variable each variable and constant.Let us apply complementation on the following: EQUIPMENT Prototyping board (breadboard)DC Power Supply 5V or 9V BatteryLight Emitting Diode (LED) (4)Solid-core wire (gauge 22, 1 meter long)Digital ICs:7404 Hex Inverter7408 (2) Quad AND7432 (2) Quad OR