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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1542] ==Definitions== *1: extent of dignity, excellence, or splend...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Amplitude400.jpg|right|frame]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1542]
==Definitions==
*1: extent of [[dignity]], excellence, or splendor
*2: the [[quality]] or state of being ample : fullness, [[abundance]]
*3: the extent or range of a quality, [[property]], [[process]], or phenomenon: as
:a : the extent of a [[vibratory]] movement (as of a [[pendulum]]) measured from the mean position to an [[extreme]]
:b : the maximum departure of the [[value]] of an alternating current or [[wave]] from the [[average]] value
*4: the angle assigned to a [[complex]] number when it is plotted in a complex plane using polar [[coordinates]] —called also argument
==Description==
The '''amplitude''' of a periodic [[variable]] is a measure of its [[change]] over a single period (such as [[time]] or spatial period). There are various [[definitions]] of amplitude which are all functions of the magnitude of the [[difference]] between the variable's [[extreme]] [[values]].
In general, the use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Peak_amplitude peak amplitude] is simple and unambiguous only for [[symmetric]] periodic [[waves]], like a sine wave, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_wave square wave], or a triangular wave. For an asymmetric wave (periodic [[pulses]] in one direction, for example), the peak amplitude becomes [[ambiguous]]. This is because the value is [[different]] depending on whether the maximum positive signal is measured [[relative]] to the mean, the maximum negative signal is measured relative to the mean, or the maximum positive signal is measured relative to the maximum negative signal (the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Peak-to-peak_amplitude peak-to-peak amplitude]) and then divided by two. In electrical engineering, the usual solution to this ambiguity is to measure the amplitude from a defined reference potential (such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_(electricity) ground] or 0 V). Strictly speaking, this is no longer amplitude since there is the possibility that a constant (DC component) is included in the measurement.
In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunication telecommunication], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Pulse_amplitude pulse amplitude] is the magnitude of a pulse parameter, such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage voltage] level, current level, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_intensity field intensity], or power level.
Pulse amplitude is measured with respect to a specified reference and therefore should be modified by qualifiers, such as "[[average]]", "instantaneous", "peak", or "root-mean-square".
Pulse amplitude also applies to the amplitude of [[frequency]]- and phase-modulated waveform envelopes.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude]
[[Category: Physics]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1542]
==Definitions==
*1: extent of [[dignity]], excellence, or splendor
*2: the [[quality]] or state of being ample : fullness, [[abundance]]
*3: the extent or range of a quality, [[property]], [[process]], or phenomenon: as
:a : the extent of a [[vibratory]] movement (as of a [[pendulum]]) measured from the mean position to an [[extreme]]
:b : the maximum departure of the [[value]] of an alternating current or [[wave]] from the [[average]] value
*4: the angle assigned to a [[complex]] number when it is plotted in a complex plane using polar [[coordinates]] —called also argument
==Description==
The '''amplitude''' of a periodic [[variable]] is a measure of its [[change]] over a single period (such as [[time]] or spatial period). There are various [[definitions]] of amplitude which are all functions of the magnitude of the [[difference]] between the variable's [[extreme]] [[values]].
In general, the use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Peak_amplitude peak amplitude] is simple and unambiguous only for [[symmetric]] periodic [[waves]], like a sine wave, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_wave square wave], or a triangular wave. For an asymmetric wave (periodic [[pulses]] in one direction, for example), the peak amplitude becomes [[ambiguous]]. This is because the value is [[different]] depending on whether the maximum positive signal is measured [[relative]] to the mean, the maximum negative signal is measured relative to the mean, or the maximum positive signal is measured relative to the maximum negative signal (the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Peak-to-peak_amplitude peak-to-peak amplitude]) and then divided by two. In electrical engineering, the usual solution to this ambiguity is to measure the amplitude from a defined reference potential (such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_(electricity) ground] or 0 V). Strictly speaking, this is no longer amplitude since there is the possibility that a constant (DC component) is included in the measurement.
In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunication telecommunication], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude#Pulse_amplitude pulse amplitude] is the magnitude of a pulse parameter, such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage voltage] level, current level, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_intensity field intensity], or power level.
Pulse amplitude is measured with respect to a specified reference and therefore should be modified by qualifiers, such as "[[average]]", "instantaneous", "peak", or "root-mean-square".
Pulse amplitude also applies to the amplitude of [[frequency]]- and phase-modulated waveform envelopes.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude]
[[Category: Physics]]