What do op amps really do?

Question

I just need a simple explanation of what op amps do. In my textbook, and all over the internet, explanations are too complicated. I know that they 'amplify' the voltage difference between the two inputs and send it out through the output, but I don't know how, and I don't know why.

I also don't see why we need to connect a power supply to the op amp. If the op amp amplifies voltage, and it gets saturated if it goes above the power supply voltage, why not just use the power supply? Help

? · Accepted Answer

Unless you really want to look into the internal circuitry of the op amp -and as a user, you probably don't- then the fact that they amplify the difference between the inputs (by many tens of thousands of times) will do for many purposes.

The fact that they have such a high gain means that we can use negative feedback to define a (much lower) gain using resistors. Google for "inverting op amp circuit", "non-inverting op amp circuit".

The output of an op amp *cannot* exceed the supply voltage. The opamp does not *generate* a voltage itself.

Hope that's at the right level.

? · Answer

It was just a dual polarity ( differential ) amplifier that has very high gain. By controlling its feedback loop to control its gain ratio with a very simple manner, so that it can be used to do many different type electronic tasks.

veeyesvee · Answer

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What do op amps really do?

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