Generally, an amplifier is any
device that will use a small amount of energy and convert it to a larger amount of energy. In popular use, the term today usually refers to an
electronic amplifier, often as in
audio applications. The relationship of the input to the output of an amplifier — usually expressed as a function of the input frequency — is called the
transfer function of the amplifier, and the magnitude of the transfer function is termed the
gain.
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