Propagation delay

Imagine you are playing a game of catch with your friend who is standing far away. When you throw the ball, your friend needs some time to catch it because the ball needs to travel from your hand to your friend's hand. This time it takes for the ball to travel from your hand to your friend's hand is called the propagation delay.

Propagation delay is the time it takes for information (like a signal or data) to travel from one point to another point. Just like the ball takes time to travel from one person to another person, information also takes time to travel from one device to another device.

In electronics, propagation delay is often caused by the speed at which electrical signals travel through wires and electronic components. For example, in a computer, when you click a button on your keyboard, it takes some time for the signal to travel through the wires in your computer to the processor that processes your input. This delay can be very small (measured in nanoseconds) but it can add up when many signals are trying to travel through many components in a system.

To reduce propagation delay, engineers can design systems with faster components and shorter distances for signals to travel. This is important in many applications, such as in high-speed communication systems or in computer processors where fast response times are needed.