Amplifier

electronics · sound · physics · technology

Makes signals stronger. An amplifier takes a small electrical signal and boosts it into a much bigger one, kind of like how a megaphone makes your voice louder. It uses electrical power to make the output signal way stronger than what went in.

Uses gain to measure. Scientists measure how much an amplifier boosts a signal using something called 'gain,' which is just the ratio of what comes out compared to what goes in. If something goes in at one unit and comes out at ten units, the gain is ten.

Two ports work together. An amplifier has two ports: one where the weak signal enters (input) and one where the boosted signal leaves (output). It's like a machine that eats in tiny sounds and spits out big, powerful ones.

Needs electrical power. An amplifier can't work magic, so it needs a power supply to create all that extra power. It borrows energy from the power supply to make the output signal bigger than the input signal.

All around us. Amplifiers are everywhere: in your headphones, guitar speakers, home stereos, and even in the tiny chips inside your phone that help it play music clearly.