An amplifier is an electronic circuit or device that increases the amplitude of an input electrical signal to produce a larger output signal, while attempting to preserve the original waveform's shape and information content. It operates by using external power to modulate an output signal in proportion to an input signal, characterized by its gain (output/input ratio), bandwidth (frequency range over which it operates), linearity (waveform fidelity), and noise figure (added noise). Amplifiers are built to persist as physical circuits (vacuum tubes, discrete transistors, integrated operational amplifiers) or as functional blocks within larger systems, maintained through standard electronic manufacturing and design practices. [formal: amplificatio | substrate: matter | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
amplifier
An amplifier is an electronic circuit or device that increases the amplitude of an input electrical signal to produce a larger output signal, while attempting to preserve the original waveform's shape and information content. It operates b…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made electronic device or circuit designed to increase the amplitude of an electrical signal while preserving its waveform characteristics — built to persist as the foundational building block of audio systems, radio equipment, measurement instruments, and guitar pedals.
Names and aliases
- amplifieren · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrsb393a00miollhxpcc7bkzDEPENDS_ON →
An amplifier's function is to increase the amplitude of an input signal. Signal is its material medium — remove signal and the amplifier has nothing to amplify, ceasing to operate. Object-level dependency (consistent with speaker→signal and DAC→signal, all accepting signal as material). The definition explicitly describes input/output signal operations.
Relations to this entry
- preamp← INSTANCE_OF
A preamp is a specific kind of amplifier — one designed to amplify weak input signals to a usable line level before further processing. A competent speaker calls a preamp 'a type of amplifier.' The nearest kind is amplifier (accepted). Pinned sense: preamp as the signal-amplification stage preceding power amplification or effects processing.
- headphone-amplifier← INSTANCE_OF
A headphone-amplifier is a specific kind of amplifier: it amplifies audio signals using electronic gain stages, just like any amplifier, but with output characteristics specifically optimized for driving headphones (high voltage swing, appropriate output impedance). A competent audio engineer would classify a headphone-amplifier as 'a type of amplifier.'
- overdrive← DEPENDS_ON
Overdrive is created by driving an amplifier circuit beyond its linear operating range, producing soft clipping. The amplifier is the device that gets overdriven; without amplifiers there is no way to overdrive a circuit — the concept and the effect collapse together. Removal test: remove amplifier (the concept of an electronic circuit that increases signal amplitude) and overdrive becomes unintelligible — there is no 'over-' without an amplifier to over-drive. Pinned sense: amplifier as the amplification circuit being driven into saturation.
Record identity
- Created
- Sep 8, 2026, 3:38 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 20ecc5d72451252f39727ab0bf2e1031c0ea6928a9f3623d5301464aa195f4bd