A single conversion is started by writing a logical one to the ADC Start Conversion bit, ADSC. This bit stays high as long as the conversion is in progress and will be cleared by hardware when the conversion is completed. If a different data channel is selected while a conversion is in progress, the ADC will finish the current conversion before performing the channel change.
In Free Running mode, the ADC is constantly sampling and updating the ADC Data Register. Free Running mode is selected by writing the ADFR bit in ADCSRA to one. The first conversion must be started by writing a logical one to the ADSC bit in ADCSRA. In this mode the ADC will perform successive conversions independently of whether the ADC Interrupt Flag, ADIF is cleared or not.