Nepedia
Back to Discover
Independent Reader
💻

OR gate

technology Maturity 11-13 Next article →

An OR gate is a tiny part in digital tools.

OR ANSI Labelled
OR ANSI Labelled

It works with signals called bits. Bits can be 1 or 0. You can also call them true or false. The gate looks at its inputs to make a choice. If any input is 1, the output is 1. The output is 0 only if all inputs are 0. This works for gates with two inputs or more.

OR from NAND
OR from NAND

You can also build an OR gate using other parts. These parts are called NAND or NOR gates. This is helpful if you do not have an OR gate. Some chips hold many gates at once. One chip is the 4071. It has four separate OR gates inside.

CMOS 4071 diagram
CMOS 4071 diagram

This chip uses CMOS, which is a way to make parts. Other chips like the 7432 also work. They can work at different speeds. Some use less power too. The OR gate is one of three basic parts. Together with AND and NOT gates, they can make any circuit.

165 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (5)
File:CMOS 4071 diagram.svg
CMOS 4071 diagram.svg
File:OR ANSI Labelled.svg
OR ANSI Labelled.svg
File:OR from NAND.svg
OR from NAND.svg
File:OR from NOR.svg
OR from NOR.svg
File:Wired or.png
Wired or.png
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.