amplitudien

Amplitudien is the plural form of amplitude in several languages, notably German. In English usage, the plural is amplitudes. The term refers to the magnitude of an oscillatory quantity, such as a displacement, voltage, pressure, or electric field, describing how far the quantity deviates from its rest value.

In physics and engineering, amplitude often denotes the peak value of a waveform. For a sinusoidal wave, the amplitude is the maximum displacement from equilibrium; the peak-to-peak amplitude is twice the peak value. Other common measures include the root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude, which relates to the effective energy of the signal, and the envelope amplitude, which tracks the outer boundary of a modulated signal.

Amplitudien appear in contexts such as acoustics, optics, radio engineering, and mechanics. They are determined from time-domain samples or from the spectrum obtained via Fourier analysis, where the amplitude spectrum shows how much each frequency contributes to the signal. Amplitudes are unitful quantities, with units depending on the physical quantity involved (meters for displacement, volts for electrical signals, pascals for sound pressure).

Usage note: Amplituden is the standard plural in modern German for amplitude; amplitudien is uncommon and may be seen in older or highly Latinized texts. In English, amplitudes is the normal plural. The concept is central to the analysis of waves and signals and to the representation of oscillatory phenomena in science and engineering.