What characterizes an astable multivibrator?

An astable multivibrator is characterized by having two conditions of temporary stability. This type of circuit continuously switches between its two unstable states without requiring any external triggering. It is commonly used in applications like clock pulse generation, where it toggles between the high and low states in a periodic fashion, creating a square wave output.

In an astable multivibrator configuration, no stable states are present; instead, the output oscillates between the two states of temporary stability, where each state is only maintained for a brief duration before transitioning to the other state. This cyclical behavior results in a frequency output determined by the timing components used in the circuit. Other configurations like monostable and bistable multivibrators are characterized by having stable states, but the astable multivibrator distinctly lacks stability, emphasizing its continuous oscillation.