5/13/2019 Amplitude - Wikipedia

Amplitude
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 (see below), which are all functions of the magnitude of the difference
between the variable's extreme values. In older texts the phase is sometimes called the amplitude.[1]

Contents
Definitions
Peak-to-peak amplitude
Peak amplitude
Semi-amplitude
Root mean square amplitude
Ambiguity
Pulse amplitude
Formal representation
Units
Transient amplitude envelopes
Amplitude normalization
See also
Notes

Definitions

Peak-to-peak amplitude
Peak-to-peak amplitude is the change between peak (highest amplitude
value) and trough (lowest amplitude value, which can be negative). With
appropriate circuitry, peak-to-peak amplitudes of electric oscillations can
be measured by meters or by viewing the waveform on an oscilloscope.
Peak-to-peak is a straightforward measurement on an oscilloscope, the
peaks of the waveform being easily identified and measured against the
A sinusoidal curve
graticule. This remains a common way of specifying amplitude, but
1. Peak amplitude ( ),
sometimes other measures of amplitude are more appropriate.
2. Peak-to-peak amplitude ( ),
3. Root mean square amplitude (
Peak amplitude ),

In audio system measurements, telecommunications and other areas 4. Wave period (not an amplitude)

where the measurand is a signal that swings above and below a reference
value but is not sinusoidal, peak amplitude is often used. If the reference is
zero, this is the maximum absolute value of the signal; if the reference is a mean value (DC component), the peak
amplitude is the maximum absolute value of the difference from that reference.

Semi-amplitude

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Semi-amplitude means 1/2(Half) of the peak-to-peak amplitude.[2] Some scientists[3] use amplitude or peak
amplitude to mean semi-amplitude.

It is the most widely used measure of orbital wobble in astronomy and the measurement of small radial velocity semi-
amplitudes of nearby stars is important in the search for exoplanets (see Doppler spectroscopy).[4]

Root mean square amplitude

Root mean square (RMS) amplitude is used especially in electrical engineering: the RMS is defined as the square root
of the mean over time of the square of the vertical distance of the graph from the rest state;[5] i.e. the RMS of the AC
waveform (with no DC component).

For complicated waveforms, especially non-repeating signals like noise, the RMS amplitude is usually used because it
is both unambiguous and has physical significance. For example, the average power transmitted by an acoustic or
electromagnetic wave or by an electrical signal is proportional to the square of the RMS amplitude (and not, in
general, to the square of the peak amplitude).[6]

For alternating current electric power, the universal practice is to specify RMS values of a sinusoidal waveform. One
property of root mean square voltages and currents is that they produce the same heating effect as direct current in a
given resistance.

The peak-to-peak value is used, for example, when choosing rectifiers for power supplies, or when estimating the
maximum voltage that insulation must withstand. Some common voltmeters are calibrated for RMS amplitude, but
respond to the average value of a rectified waveform. Many digital voltmeters and all moving coil meters are in this
category. The RMS calibration is only correct for a sine wave input since the ratio between peak, average and RMS
values is dependent on waveform. If the wave shape being measured is greatly different from a sine wave, the
relationship between RMS and average value changes. True RMS-responding meters were used in radio frequency
measurements, where instruments measured the heating effect in a resistor to measure current. The advent of
microprocessor controlled meters capable of calculating RMS by sampling the waveform has made true RMS
measurement commonplace.

Ambiguity
In general, the use of peak amplitude is simple and unambiguous only for symmetric periodic waves, like a sine wave,
a 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 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 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.

Pulse amplitude
In telecommunication, pulse amplitude is the magnitude of a pulse parameter, such as the voltage level, current level,
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.[7]

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Formal representation
In this simple wave equation

is the amplitude (or peak amplitude),

is the oscillating variable,
is angular frequency,
is time,
and are arbitrary constants representing time and displacement offsets respectively.

Units
The units of the amplitude depend on the type of wave, but are always in the same units as the oscillating variable. A
more general representation of the wave equation is more complex, but the role of amplitude remains analogous to
this simple case.

For waves on a string, or in medium such as water, the amplitude is a displacement.

The amplitude of sound waves and audio signals (which relates to the volume) conventionally refers to the amplitude
of the air pressure in the wave, but sometimes the amplitude of the displacement (movements of the air or the
diaphragm of a speaker) is described. The logarithm of the amplitude squared is usually quoted in dB, so a null
amplitude corresponds to −∞ dB. Loudness is related to amplitude and intensity and is one of the most salient
qualities of a sound, although in general sounds can be recognized independently of amplitude. The square of the
amplitude is proportional to the intensity of the wave.

For electromagnetic radiation, the amplitude of a photon corresponds to the changes in the electric field of the wave.
However, radio signals may be carried by electromagnetic radiation; the intensity of the radiation (amplitude
modulation) or the frequency of the radiation (frequency modulation) is oscillated and then the individual oscillations
are varied (modulated) to produce the signal.

Transient amplitude envelopes

A steady state amplitude remains constant during time, thus is represented by a scalar. Otherwise, the amplitude is
transient and must be represented as either a continuous function or a discrete vector. For audio, transient amplitude
envelopes model signals better because many common sounds have a transient loudness attack, decay, sustain, and
release.

Other parameters can be assigned steady state or transient amplitude envelopes: high/low frequency/amplitude
modulation, Gaussian noise, overtones, etc. [8]

Amplitude normalization
With waveforms containing many overtones, complex transient timbres can be achieved by assigning each overtone to
its own distinct transient amplitude envelope. Unfortunately, this has the effect of modulating the loudness of the
sound as well. It makes more sense to separate loudness and harmonic quality to be parameters controlled
independently of each other.

To do so, harmonic amplitude envelopes are frame-by-frame normalized to become amplitude proportion envelopes,
where at each time frame all the harmonic amplitudes will add to 100% (or 1). This way, the main loudness-controlling
envelope can be cleanly controlled. [8]

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In Sound Recognition, max amplitude normalization can be used to help align the key harmonic features of 2 alike
sounds, allowing similar timbres to be recognized independent of loudness. [9][10]

See also
Complex amplitude
Waves and their properties:

Frequency
Wavelength
Crest factor
Amplitude modulation
Thermal amplitude

Notes
1. Knopp, Konrad; Bagemihl, Frederick (1996). Theory of Functions Parts I and II. Dover Publications. p. 3.
ISBN 978-0-486-69219-7.
2. Tatum, J. B. Physics – Celestial Mechanics (http://orca.phys.uvic.ca/~tatum/celmechs/celm18.pdf). Paragraph
18.2.12. 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
3. Regents of the University of California. Universe of Light: What is the Amplitude of a Wave? (http://cse.ssl.berkele
y.edu/light/measure_amp.html#measure4) 1996. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
4. Goldvais, Uriel A. Exoplanets (http://img2.tapuz.co.il/forums/1_109580628.pdf), pp. 2–3. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
5. Department of Communicative Disorders University of Wisconsin–Madison. RMS Amplitude (http://www.comdis.w
isc.edu/vcd202/rms.html). Retrieved 2008-08-22.
6. Ward, Electrical Engineering Science, pp. 141–142, McGraw-Hill, 1971.
7. This article incorporates public domain material from the General Services Administration document "Federal
Standard 1037C" (http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/fs-1037c.htm).
8. "Additive Sound Synthesizer Project with CODE!" (http://www.pitt.edu/~rdb37/synthparentwebpage_main.html).
www.pitt.edu.
9. "Sound Sampling, Analysis, and Recognition" (http://www.pitt.edu/~rdb37/ssar.html). www.pitt.edu.
10. rblack37 (2 January 2018). "I wrote a Sound Recognition Application" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtWGX
yYcs-A) – via YouTube.

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