amplifies

Amplifies is the third-person singular present tense of the verb amplify. It is used to describe the action of increasing the size, amount, magnitude, or strength of something. The term appears across many disciplines, typically relating to processes that enhance or extend an initial quantity.

In technology and engineering, amplifies often refers to making a signal larger. An electronic amplifier increases the amplitude of a voltage or current; optical amplifiers boost light intensity in fiber networks; in radio and audio systems, amplification helps overcome losses and improve intelligibility. In physics and related fields, amplification can describe the growth of a wave, a quantum state, or a measurement’s signal-to-noise ratio under appropriate conditions.

In science and medicine, amplifies describe replication or magnification of biological material. DNA amplification, most notably via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), creates many copies of a specific DNA sequence for analysis. Other nucleic acid amplification methods are used in diagnostics and research. Amplification also appears in chemistry and environmental science when trace signals or compounds are increased to detectable levels.

In linguistics and rhetoric, amplification is a figure of speech that expands an idea by adding detail or emphasis; a sentence may be amplified with adjectives, examples, or elaboration. The verb amplifies can then be used to describe that action.

See also amplificate, amplifier, amplification. The term derives from Latin amplificare, from amplus meaning large and facere meaning to make.