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I have been studying the topic of amplifiers recently and I've come across the term "general amplifier" a number of times online. Does this term refer to a particular kind of amplifier, or is it just a way of referring to 'amplifiers in general'?

Sorry if this sounds a bit thick or ill-informed. My reason for asking is that sometimes the phrase seems to be used in a way which implies that "general amplifier" is an actual type of amplifier distinct from other types, so I've started to wonder if I'm missing its real meaning to those "in the know". (At other times it seems to be used interchangeably with 'ideal amplifier' but this doesn't always seem to suit the context.)

See for example: https://www.electronicsforu.com/resources/class-a-amplifier-working https://es.mathworks.com/help/simrf/ref/generalamplifier.html https://www.miyajima-lab.com/wo-1.html Can I generate pure sine wave with just a clock and amplifier? (I don't have enough points to add a comment to this last one to find out what was intended to be conveyed by this term within the highest-scored answer.)

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It refers to different things in different cases.

  • The mathworks link uses the term to refer to a more general type of amplifier than usually used--this one refers to an amplifier that can be nonlinear, whereas normally one is only concerned with linear or nearly-linear amplifiers.
  • The EE.SE answer refers to an unspecialized amplifier, one not optimized for the problem at hand.
  • The miyajima-lab.com link uses the term to refer to any random off-the-shelf amplifier, claiming that their product is 10 times better than average.
  • The electronicsforu.com link uses it to refer to a general model of an amplifier, saying that the BJT class-A amplifier they're describing can be treated as a special case of a more general class of device.

In short, "general amplifier" is not a term of art, it's merely the word "general" in one of its usual meanings, modifying the word "amplifier" in one of its usual meanings.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Many thanks @Hearth for your thorough and patient answer despite what may have seemed an obvious question on the face of it, this really helps. I take confidence from your final sentence ("...not a term of art...") that 'general amplifier' does not informally refer to some specific type of amplifier, but is context-dependent (with the usual meaning of general), although the term may sometimes be interchangeable with 'ideal amplifier'. Thanks again. \$\endgroup\$
    – int
    Commented Sep 17, 2022 at 14:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ @int Yes, it should be treated as context dependent. Most things are; usually, when it's a term of art, there's little risk of it being misinterpreted--"operational amplifier", for instance, doesn't have any particularly obvious interpretations if you forget that it's a word for a specific type of amplifier. Except perhaps as an amplifier that's working, but then why specifically call out that it's not broken? \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Sep 17, 2022 at 14:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ Good example ha! Thanks \$\endgroup\$
    – int
    Commented Sep 17, 2022 at 14:56

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