What is an analog sensor?

An analog sensor is a device that measures an analog quality (such as temperature, wind speed, sound frequency or velocity).

Many of us fail to recognize the difference between qualitative and quantitative measurements.

Quantitative descriptors are actually just the result of counting something; seventeen marbles, five folding chairs, three Apples...

Qualitative descriptors are the result of estimating something; eight cups of sliced Apples, a five pound bag of marbles, the current room temperature.

When we use a scale to measure something, it's called "qualitative"... or analog.

Converters are available that allow a computer to achieve a close approximation of an analog measurement, but for the computer to use the value it must first be converted to a digital signal. Inside the computer, that digital signal is all ones and zeroes, but many of them can be put together to represent a very large number.

If that doesn't help, perhaps a basic physics class or even a computer "digital logic" class might be beneficial.