Duty cycle The ratio or percentage of a circuit or signal's time spent in an "on" state, vs. the time spent in an "off" state; normally applied to regular, cyclic behavior. A circuit that is cycling on and off, being "on" for 1 second and "off" for 2 seconds in each cycle would then have a duty cycle of 1:2, or 33.33%. If this circuit were "on" for 1 second and "off" for 1 second in each cycle, it would have a duty cycle of 1:1, or 50%.

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