ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Daisy chain (electrical engineering)

When we have a lot of toys to play with, sometimes we want to connect them all together to make them work together. This is what we call daisy chaining.

In electrical engineering, daisy chain means connecting devices or components in a chain or series, one after the other. It is similar to when we connect our toy cars, one after the other, using a single string to pull them.

For example, we can daisy chain lights together by connecting them one after the other. If we have three lights (A, B, and C) and we want to connect them, we can connect the power source to light A. From there, we will connect a wire from light A to light B, and then from light B to light C. In this way, all the lights are connected together and will turn on and off at the same time.

Another example of daisy chaining is when we have a computer with multiple USB ports. We can daisy chain devices, like printers or scanners, by connecting them one after the other to the USB ports on the computer.

Daisy chaining is very useful because it saves us time and money. Instead of using separate wires or cables to connect each device to the power source or computer, we can use a single wire or cable to connect them all.

However, there are some drawbacks to daisy chaining. If one device in the chain stops working, the rest of the devices after it may also stop working. Also, if we connect too many devices in a daisy chain, it can cause the signal or power to weaken, resulting in slower or less reliable operation.

In summary, daisy chaining means connecting devices or components one after the other in a chain or series. It is a useful method of connecting devices that saves time and money, but can cause reliability issues if not done properly.