What is the difference between amplitude and magnitude

They are very informative. I rated this one 1 star, perhaps too harsh, because the comparison chart is incorrect or inconsistent with the description of whether amplitude or magnitude can be a positive number.

I believe it is stated correctly in the initial paragraph, but in the comparison chart is incorrectly stated. Hope this helps. I will still continue to read your content! Best, Eli. Name required. Email required. Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

Written by : Sagar Khillar. Understanding Digital Signal Processing. New Delhi, India: Pearson Education, Print [3]Holgate, Sharon Ann. Understanding Solid State Physics. Print Articles on DifferenceBetween. User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. What is an Amplitude? What is a Magnitude? Difference between Magnitude and Amplitude Definition of Magnitude and Amplitude — The amplitude of a variable is the measure of deviation of that variable from its central position up to a positive or negative value.

Property of Magnitude and Amplitude — Magnitude is the property of relative size or extent which generally concerns a vector quantity. Example — Amplitude simply measures the length and width of waves from the resting position, such as sound waves, as they vibrate or move.

Amplitude vs. Magnitude: Comparison Chart Summary of Magnitude vs. Amplitude While both the terms are often used interchangeably, they are very different terms. Author Recent Posts. Sagar Khillar. The amplitude is varied accordingly to change the modulation of a wave and transmit the signal to the destination. There is a type of modulation known as amplitude modulation in which the amplitude is varied to change the modulation of a wave.

The amplitude is independent of the factor direction. The amplitude of a wave can be measured both on positive and negative sides.

But the magnitude of the amplitude of a wave is always a positive quantity. The amplitude of an ideal wave is the same on both sides of the number line. Both magnitude and amplitude are important terms in the field of science. Magnitude is also used to measure the strength of earthquakes. Amplitude is the main factor to determine the sound of a system in a microphone or loudspeaker. They have different applications in physics. Even amplitude is a scalar quantity comprising of the only magnitude.

In amplitude, magnitude is always positive. But magnitude itself can be both positive and negative depending on the factor it is considered. For distance, negative magnitude indicated opposite direction. So both these quantities are inseparable in the field of application.

The diagram below illustrates this:. For a sinusoidally-varying quantity, the amplitude refers to the maximum and minimum values taken by the quantity. When we describe simple harmonic motion, amplitude refers to the maximum displacement of the oscillating object from the equilibrium position. For a vector of dimensions , the magnitude is given by:. Since no direction is associated with a magnitude, the magnitudes of vector quantities are scalar quantities.