Amplitude | Definition & Facts - Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos amplitude Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Images Contents Science Physics Matter & Energy CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/amplitude-physics Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

• Pressbooks - Amplitude and period on time graphs
• The Physics Classroom - Energy Transport and the Amplitude of a Wave
• ODU Digital Commons - *Amplitude and the Resonant ⯑ → ⯑⯑* Transition ansition from Lattice QCD (PDF)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Amplitude
• Indiana University - Introduction to Computer Music - What is amplitude?
• CiteSeerX - Theory of true amplitude one-way wave equations and true amplitude common-shot migration
• Open University - OpenLearn - Amplitude
• Mathematics LibreTexts - Amplitude and Period

amplitude physics Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Homework Help Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

amplitude, in physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the length of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance that the bob traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by vibrating sources, their amplitude being proportional to the amplitude of the source.

Related Topics: wave How Does Sound Travel? exponential decay decay time amplification (Show more) See all related content

For a transverse wave, such as the wave on a plucked string, amplitude is measured by the maximum displacement of any point on the string from its position when the string is at rest. For a longitudinal wave, such as a sound wave, amplitude is measured by the maximum displacement of a particle from its position of equilibrium. When the amplitude of a wave steadily decreases because its energy is being lost, it is said to be damped.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.