What Reference-Potential does an Operational Amplifier use as “Ground”-Potential?

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Wikipedia states on operational amplifiers, that, simply speaking, they provide an output voltage at their output which is the difference of the two input voltages, multiplied by some (very very large) number.
Since voltages are just electric potential differences, I'd like to know what point in the circuit is the reference point for the output of the operational amplifier?



For the inputs, it essentially doesn't matter. Since the behaviour of the operational amplifier only depends on the difference of the two inputs, it doesn't matter what ground they correspond to.



My simplest guess would be that the output voltage of the operational amplifier has the same common ground all the other devices in the electric circuit have. In that case: How does the operational amplifier know of this common ground, if it doesn't have a connection to the common ground?



I need to know what the reference point is to even make any sense of the statement "the output voltage is A times the input difference". If I don't know what the reference point is, then the output voltage is just a number without meaning.










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    up vote
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    favorite












    Wikipedia states on operational amplifiers, that, simply speaking, they provide an output voltage at their output which is the difference of the two input voltages, multiplied by some (very very large) number.
    Since voltages are just electric potential differences, I'd like to know what point in the circuit is the reference point for the output of the operational amplifier?



    For the inputs, it essentially doesn't matter. Since the behaviour of the operational amplifier only depends on the difference of the two inputs, it doesn't matter what ground they correspond to.



    My simplest guess would be that the output voltage of the operational amplifier has the same common ground all the other devices in the electric circuit have. In that case: How does the operational amplifier know of this common ground, if it doesn't have a connection to the common ground?



    I need to know what the reference point is to even make any sense of the statement "the output voltage is A times the input difference". If I don't know what the reference point is, then the output voltage is just a number without meaning.










    share|improve this question









    New contributor




    Quantumwhisp is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite











      Wikipedia states on operational amplifiers, that, simply speaking, they provide an output voltage at their output which is the difference of the two input voltages, multiplied by some (very very large) number.
      Since voltages are just electric potential differences, I'd like to know what point in the circuit is the reference point for the output of the operational amplifier?



      For the inputs, it essentially doesn't matter. Since the behaviour of the operational amplifier only depends on the difference of the two inputs, it doesn't matter what ground they correspond to.



      My simplest guess would be that the output voltage of the operational amplifier has the same common ground all the other devices in the electric circuit have. In that case: How does the operational amplifier know of this common ground, if it doesn't have a connection to the common ground?



      I need to know what the reference point is to even make any sense of the statement "the output voltage is A times the input difference". If I don't know what the reference point is, then the output voltage is just a number without meaning.










      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Quantumwhisp is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      Wikipedia states on operational amplifiers, that, simply speaking, they provide an output voltage at their output which is the difference of the two input voltages, multiplied by some (very very large) number.
      Since voltages are just electric potential differences, I'd like to know what point in the circuit is the reference point for the output of the operational amplifier?



      For the inputs, it essentially doesn't matter. Since the behaviour of the operational amplifier only depends on the difference of the two inputs, it doesn't matter what ground they correspond to.



      My simplest guess would be that the output voltage of the operational amplifier has the same common ground all the other devices in the electric circuit have. In that case: How does the operational amplifier know of this common ground, if it doesn't have a connection to the common ground?



      I need to know what the reference point is to even make any sense of the statement "the output voltage is A times the input difference". If I don't know what the reference point is, then the output voltage is just a number without meaning.







      op-amp ground electric






      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Quantumwhisp is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Quantumwhisp is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 1 hour ago









      Null

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      New contributor




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      Quantumwhisp

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      New contributor





      Quantumwhisp is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






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      Check out our Code of Conduct.




















          4 Answers
          4






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          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          I struggled with the same problem for a while. The answer is not always obvious.



          The op-amp, generally, has no idea where ground is as there is no ground input pin. Often it's the negative voltage as in single-rail supply applications and other times it's somewhere between V+ and V- as in split-rail supplies.



          Almost all amplifiers configure the op-amp with negative feedback to control and linearise the gain.





          schematic





          simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



          Figure 1. Two most common op-amp configurations.



          From basic op-amp application theory it should be clear that in both cases shown in Figure 1 that the negative feedback will cause the output voltage to go to whatever voltage is required to bring the inverting input to the same potential as the non-inverting input. The result for each case is:



          $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i + V_textref $$



          $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) + V_textref $$



          Note that $V_textref$ and $V_textin$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point. If $V_textref$ is zero then we get our standard op-amp amplifier gain formulas.



          $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i $$



          $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) $$






          share|improve this answer






















          • "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
            – Quantumwhisp
            59 mins ago










          • In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
            – Transistor
            46 mins ago

















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          It doesn't know nor care. Opamp's internal circuitry works like this:



          enter image description here



          Uout is near 0V when U1 < U2 and Uout is near the full supply voltage Us when U1 > U2. Just around the case U1=U2 there's a transition zone A. Its width in practical opamps is well below one millivolt. Nobody guarantees that the zone is linear or symmetrically around the zero, but normally opamps are used with a feedback circuitry which forces the opamp to output such Uout that U1-U2 is inside the transition zone.



          People often divide Us to two parts in series. The upper part is said to be the positive supply and the lower part is said to be the negative supply. The midpoint is said to be the ground and all voltages in application designs are referenced to it. But internally the opamp references all to one of the poles of the supply voltage Us.



          Many opamps use the plus pole of the Us as the internal reference point. This is because in low cost IC designs the internal circuitry cannot accept U1 and U2 to be whatever, they must be between 0 and Us and there's some margin needed.



          Many buyers want no margin at 0V, they want that U1 and U2 can be 0V. If the internal circuitry is designed properly (=PNP input transistors), the usable range for U1 and U2 is from zero to 1...1,5V less than Us.






          share|improve this answer






















          • Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
            – Quantumwhisp
            1 hour ago










          • @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
            – user287001
            53 mins ago











          • @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
            – user287001
            42 mins ago


















          up vote
          1
          down vote













          It really doesn't matter. It can only output as far as its power rails, and if you look at it as ideal, it would always be at one of those rails in the absence of any feedback.



          The feedback structure is what gives it a reference. For example, in a single ended negative gain configuration, the positive input supplies the reference; it's a chosen point in the range where that voltage on the input results in the same voltage on the output.






          share|improve this answer



























            up vote
            1
            down vote













            In practice the offset voltage of the op-amp multiplied by the gain is typically much more than the supply voltage. For example the LM324 has a gain of about 100,000 and an offset of perhaps a couple of mV so hundreds of volts at the output.



            If you need a number for calculations, you can think of it as ($V_+$ + $V_-$)/2 if you like, which conveniently works out to zero for balanced supply voltages, but whichever number you pick within the supply rails (for example, if you pick 0 for a 5V single supply op-amp) the error should be small for typical op-amps.



            For example, a precision amplifier with a gain of 1,000,000 and an offset voltage of +/-12uV typical.. still +/-12V at the output based on the offset.






            share|improve this answer




















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              4 Answers
              4






              active

              oldest

              votes








              4 Answers
              4






              active

              oldest

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              active

              oldest

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              active

              oldest

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              up vote
              2
              down vote













              I struggled with the same problem for a while. The answer is not always obvious.



              The op-amp, generally, has no idea where ground is as there is no ground input pin. Often it's the negative voltage as in single-rail supply applications and other times it's somewhere between V+ and V- as in split-rail supplies.



              Almost all amplifiers configure the op-amp with negative feedback to control and linearise the gain.





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



              Figure 1. Two most common op-amp configurations.



              From basic op-amp application theory it should be clear that in both cases shown in Figure 1 that the negative feedback will cause the output voltage to go to whatever voltage is required to bring the inverting input to the same potential as the non-inverting input. The result for each case is:



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i + V_textref $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) + V_textref $$



              Note that $V_textref$ and $V_textin$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point. If $V_textref$ is zero then we get our standard op-amp amplifier gain formulas.



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) $$






              share|improve this answer






















              • "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
                – Quantumwhisp
                59 mins ago










              • In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
                – Transistor
                46 mins ago














              up vote
              2
              down vote













              I struggled with the same problem for a while. The answer is not always obvious.



              The op-amp, generally, has no idea where ground is as there is no ground input pin. Often it's the negative voltage as in single-rail supply applications and other times it's somewhere between V+ and V- as in split-rail supplies.



              Almost all amplifiers configure the op-amp with negative feedback to control and linearise the gain.





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



              Figure 1. Two most common op-amp configurations.



              From basic op-amp application theory it should be clear that in both cases shown in Figure 1 that the negative feedback will cause the output voltage to go to whatever voltage is required to bring the inverting input to the same potential as the non-inverting input. The result for each case is:



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i + V_textref $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) + V_textref $$



              Note that $V_textref$ and $V_textin$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point. If $V_textref$ is zero then we get our standard op-amp amplifier gain formulas.



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) $$






              share|improve this answer






















              • "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
                – Quantumwhisp
                59 mins ago










              • In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
                – Transistor
                46 mins ago












              up vote
              2
              down vote










              up vote
              2
              down vote









              I struggled with the same problem for a while. The answer is not always obvious.



              The op-amp, generally, has no idea where ground is as there is no ground input pin. Often it's the negative voltage as in single-rail supply applications and other times it's somewhere between V+ and V- as in split-rail supplies.



              Almost all amplifiers configure the op-amp with negative feedback to control and linearise the gain.





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



              Figure 1. Two most common op-amp configurations.



              From basic op-amp application theory it should be clear that in both cases shown in Figure 1 that the negative feedback will cause the output voltage to go to whatever voltage is required to bring the inverting input to the same potential as the non-inverting input. The result for each case is:



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i + V_textref $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) + V_textref $$



              Note that $V_textref$ and $V_textin$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point. If $V_textref$ is zero then we get our standard op-amp amplifier gain formulas.



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) $$






              share|improve this answer














              I struggled with the same problem for a while. The answer is not always obvious.



              The op-amp, generally, has no idea where ground is as there is no ground input pin. Often it's the negative voltage as in single-rail supply applications and other times it's somewhere between V+ and V- as in split-rail supplies.



              Almost all amplifiers configure the op-amp with negative feedback to control and linearise the gain.





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



              Figure 1. Two most common op-amp configurations.



              From basic op-amp application theory it should be clear that in both cases shown in Figure 1 that the negative feedback will cause the output voltage to go to whatever voltage is required to bring the inverting input to the same potential as the non-inverting input. The result for each case is:



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i + V_textref $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) + V_textref $$



              Note that $V_textref$ and $V_textin$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point. If $V_textref$ is zero then we get our standard op-amp amplifier gain formulas.



              $$ V_textOa = - V_textin frac R_fR_i $$



              $$ V_textOb = V_textinleft( 1+ frac R_fR_iright) $$







              share|improve this answer














              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited 1 hour ago









              Null

              4,753102233




              4,753102233










              answered 1 hour ago









              Transistor

              76.9k575168




              76.9k575168











              • "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
                – Quantumwhisp
                59 mins ago










              • In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
                – Transistor
                46 mins ago
















              • "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
                – Quantumwhisp
                59 mins ago










              • In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
                – Transistor
                46 mins ago















              "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
              – Quantumwhisp
              59 mins ago




              "Note that $V_ref$ and $V_in$ have to be referenced to some point and that the output is referenced to the same point": This is precisely what I'm asking about: Why is it that those points are the same?
              – Quantumwhisp
              59 mins ago












              In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
              – Transistor
              46 mins ago




              In any measurement system a reference point is required. If I measure the height of two buildings I can only tell which one has the highest roof if I have a common base line. You could use the building height above ground provided you know the offset of one ground relative to the other but it is easier to reference everything to a common standard - maybe sea-level in this example. Does that help?
              – Transistor
              46 mins ago












              up vote
              2
              down vote













              It doesn't know nor care. Opamp's internal circuitry works like this:



              enter image description here



              Uout is near 0V when U1 < U2 and Uout is near the full supply voltage Us when U1 > U2. Just around the case U1=U2 there's a transition zone A. Its width in practical opamps is well below one millivolt. Nobody guarantees that the zone is linear or symmetrically around the zero, but normally opamps are used with a feedback circuitry which forces the opamp to output such Uout that U1-U2 is inside the transition zone.



              People often divide Us to two parts in series. The upper part is said to be the positive supply and the lower part is said to be the negative supply. The midpoint is said to be the ground and all voltages in application designs are referenced to it. But internally the opamp references all to one of the poles of the supply voltage Us.



              Many opamps use the plus pole of the Us as the internal reference point. This is because in low cost IC designs the internal circuitry cannot accept U1 and U2 to be whatever, they must be between 0 and Us and there's some margin needed.



              Many buyers want no margin at 0V, they want that U1 and U2 can be 0V. If the internal circuitry is designed properly (=PNP input transistors), the usable range for U1 and U2 is from zero to 1...1,5V less than Us.






              share|improve this answer






















              • Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
                – Quantumwhisp
                1 hour ago










              • @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
                – user287001
                53 mins ago











              • @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
                – user287001
                42 mins ago















              up vote
              2
              down vote













              It doesn't know nor care. Opamp's internal circuitry works like this:



              enter image description here



              Uout is near 0V when U1 < U2 and Uout is near the full supply voltage Us when U1 > U2. Just around the case U1=U2 there's a transition zone A. Its width in practical opamps is well below one millivolt. Nobody guarantees that the zone is linear or symmetrically around the zero, but normally opamps are used with a feedback circuitry which forces the opamp to output such Uout that U1-U2 is inside the transition zone.



              People often divide Us to two parts in series. The upper part is said to be the positive supply and the lower part is said to be the negative supply. The midpoint is said to be the ground and all voltages in application designs are referenced to it. But internally the opamp references all to one of the poles of the supply voltage Us.



              Many opamps use the plus pole of the Us as the internal reference point. This is because in low cost IC designs the internal circuitry cannot accept U1 and U2 to be whatever, they must be between 0 and Us and there's some margin needed.



              Many buyers want no margin at 0V, they want that U1 and U2 can be 0V. If the internal circuitry is designed properly (=PNP input transistors), the usable range for U1 and U2 is from zero to 1...1,5V less than Us.






              share|improve this answer






















              • Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
                – Quantumwhisp
                1 hour ago










              • @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
                – user287001
                53 mins ago











              • @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
                – user287001
                42 mins ago













              up vote
              2
              down vote










              up vote
              2
              down vote









              It doesn't know nor care. Opamp's internal circuitry works like this:



              enter image description here



              Uout is near 0V when U1 < U2 and Uout is near the full supply voltage Us when U1 > U2. Just around the case U1=U2 there's a transition zone A. Its width in practical opamps is well below one millivolt. Nobody guarantees that the zone is linear or symmetrically around the zero, but normally opamps are used with a feedback circuitry which forces the opamp to output such Uout that U1-U2 is inside the transition zone.



              People often divide Us to two parts in series. The upper part is said to be the positive supply and the lower part is said to be the negative supply. The midpoint is said to be the ground and all voltages in application designs are referenced to it. But internally the opamp references all to one of the poles of the supply voltage Us.



              Many opamps use the plus pole of the Us as the internal reference point. This is because in low cost IC designs the internal circuitry cannot accept U1 and U2 to be whatever, they must be between 0 and Us and there's some margin needed.



              Many buyers want no margin at 0V, they want that U1 and U2 can be 0V. If the internal circuitry is designed properly (=PNP input transistors), the usable range for U1 and U2 is from zero to 1...1,5V less than Us.






              share|improve this answer














              It doesn't know nor care. Opamp's internal circuitry works like this:



              enter image description here



              Uout is near 0V when U1 < U2 and Uout is near the full supply voltage Us when U1 > U2. Just around the case U1=U2 there's a transition zone A. Its width in practical opamps is well below one millivolt. Nobody guarantees that the zone is linear or symmetrically around the zero, but normally opamps are used with a feedback circuitry which forces the opamp to output such Uout that U1-U2 is inside the transition zone.



              People often divide Us to two parts in series. The upper part is said to be the positive supply and the lower part is said to be the negative supply. The midpoint is said to be the ground and all voltages in application designs are referenced to it. But internally the opamp references all to one of the poles of the supply voltage Us.



              Many opamps use the plus pole of the Us as the internal reference point. This is because in low cost IC designs the internal circuitry cannot accept U1 and U2 to be whatever, they must be between 0 and Us and there's some margin needed.



              Many buyers want no margin at 0V, they want that U1 and U2 can be 0V. If the internal circuitry is designed properly (=PNP input transistors), the usable range for U1 and U2 is from zero to 1...1,5V less than Us.







              share|improve this answer














              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited 1 hour ago

























              answered 1 hour ago









              user287001

              8,6481416




              8,6481416











              • Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
                – Quantumwhisp
                1 hour ago










              • @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
                – user287001
                53 mins ago











              • @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
                – user287001
                42 mins ago

















              • Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
                – Quantumwhisp
                1 hour ago










              • @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
                – user287001
                53 mins ago











              • @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
                – user287001
                42 mins ago
















              Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
              – Quantumwhisp
              1 hour ago




              Just a quick question to see wether I understood it: If I choose a different ground potential for the two supplies, one which is seperated from the ground of the two inputs, would the behaviour of the operational amplifier change (or could it change? ).
              – Quantumwhisp
              1 hour ago












              @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
              – user287001
              53 mins ago





              @Quantumwhisp The opamp still would work like I told. It doesn't care where in your drawings you write GND. The opamp is only interested in the voltages between its pins. If you have a voltage between your input signal ground point and your power supply ground point you should calculate what are the real U1 and U2 - those that I drew. Then you can decide what your opamp outputs as the Uout that I drew.
              – user287001
              53 mins ago













              @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
              – user287001
              42 mins ago





              @Quantumwhisp (continued)...If there's no connection between the two points which you say your input GND and supply GND, the result is difficult to predict. Obviously there's also no dc bias current path for the necessary transistor base currents (nanoamperes) and the opamp will totally refuse to work properly. If the opamp uses the plus pole of Us as its internal reference point, there must be some conducting path between the inputs and the minus pole of Us. Old 741 requires the conducting path between inputs and +Us.
              – user287001
              42 mins ago











              up vote
              1
              down vote













              It really doesn't matter. It can only output as far as its power rails, and if you look at it as ideal, it would always be at one of those rails in the absence of any feedback.



              The feedback structure is what gives it a reference. For example, in a single ended negative gain configuration, the positive input supplies the reference; it's a chosen point in the range where that voltage on the input results in the same voltage on the output.






              share|improve this answer
























                up vote
                1
                down vote













                It really doesn't matter. It can only output as far as its power rails, and if you look at it as ideal, it would always be at one of those rails in the absence of any feedback.



                The feedback structure is what gives it a reference. For example, in a single ended negative gain configuration, the positive input supplies the reference; it's a chosen point in the range where that voltage on the input results in the same voltage on the output.






                share|improve this answer






















                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote









                  It really doesn't matter. It can only output as far as its power rails, and if you look at it as ideal, it would always be at one of those rails in the absence of any feedback.



                  The feedback structure is what gives it a reference. For example, in a single ended negative gain configuration, the positive input supplies the reference; it's a chosen point in the range where that voltage on the input results in the same voltage on the output.






                  share|improve this answer












                  It really doesn't matter. It can only output as far as its power rails, and if you look at it as ideal, it would always be at one of those rails in the absence of any feedback.



                  The feedback structure is what gives it a reference. For example, in a single ended negative gain configuration, the positive input supplies the reference; it's a chosen point in the range where that voltage on the input results in the same voltage on the output.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 2 hours ago









                  Cristobol Polychronopolis

                  1,4648




                  1,4648




















                      up vote
                      1
                      down vote













                      In practice the offset voltage of the op-amp multiplied by the gain is typically much more than the supply voltage. For example the LM324 has a gain of about 100,000 and an offset of perhaps a couple of mV so hundreds of volts at the output.



                      If you need a number for calculations, you can think of it as ($V_+$ + $V_-$)/2 if you like, which conveniently works out to zero for balanced supply voltages, but whichever number you pick within the supply rails (for example, if you pick 0 for a 5V single supply op-amp) the error should be small for typical op-amps.



                      For example, a precision amplifier with a gain of 1,000,000 and an offset voltage of +/-12uV typical.. still +/-12V at the output based on the offset.






                      share|improve this answer
























                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote













                        In practice the offset voltage of the op-amp multiplied by the gain is typically much more than the supply voltage. For example the LM324 has a gain of about 100,000 and an offset of perhaps a couple of mV so hundreds of volts at the output.



                        If you need a number for calculations, you can think of it as ($V_+$ + $V_-$)/2 if you like, which conveniently works out to zero for balanced supply voltages, but whichever number you pick within the supply rails (for example, if you pick 0 for a 5V single supply op-amp) the error should be small for typical op-amps.



                        For example, a precision amplifier with a gain of 1,000,000 and an offset voltage of +/-12uV typical.. still +/-12V at the output based on the offset.






                        share|improve this answer






















                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote










                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote









                          In practice the offset voltage of the op-amp multiplied by the gain is typically much more than the supply voltage. For example the LM324 has a gain of about 100,000 and an offset of perhaps a couple of mV so hundreds of volts at the output.



                          If you need a number for calculations, you can think of it as ($V_+$ + $V_-$)/2 if you like, which conveniently works out to zero for balanced supply voltages, but whichever number you pick within the supply rails (for example, if you pick 0 for a 5V single supply op-amp) the error should be small for typical op-amps.



                          For example, a precision amplifier with a gain of 1,000,000 and an offset voltage of +/-12uV typical.. still +/-12V at the output based on the offset.






                          share|improve this answer












                          In practice the offset voltage of the op-amp multiplied by the gain is typically much more than the supply voltage. For example the LM324 has a gain of about 100,000 and an offset of perhaps a couple of mV so hundreds of volts at the output.



                          If you need a number for calculations, you can think of it as ($V_+$ + $V_-$)/2 if you like, which conveniently works out to zero for balanced supply voltages, but whichever number you pick within the supply rails (for example, if you pick 0 for a 5V single supply op-amp) the error should be small for typical op-amps.



                          For example, a precision amplifier with a gain of 1,000,000 and an offset voltage of +/-12uV typical.. still +/-12V at the output based on the offset.







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered 2 hours ago









                          Spehro Pefhany

                          198k4142394




                          198k4142394




















                              Quantumwhisp is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









                               

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