2 ms·

I think OP is misunderstanding what "impedance" means? Impedance, at least in the context of electronics is describing resistance depending on frequency of the

I think OP is misunderstanding what "impedance" means? Impedance, at least in the context of electronics is describing resistance depending on frequency of the signal; if the incoming signal "vibrates" with a frequency that can make the receiver match it, energy transmission is large, otherwise low. Maybe I'm oversimplifying a bit, electronics or dynamic systems aren't my speciality. But the point is that two systems need to have the same impedance to move energy or a signal effectively. If the impedance matches, they "vibe" :) So it's about matching the impedance. It's about reducing the impedance mismatch between systems, not about reducing the impedance.

rawgabbit 4y ago
I never understood the impedance mismatch jargon. It still is unintuitive to me.
- pflanze 4y ago
  I might actually go and track down and use the math on some example, and actually go through it myself for the first time--if I had the time. But I'm just barely non-busy enough to read HN at all right now. Maybe wavelength of light and a filter is actually having the same thing happening underneath, and is used often in common talk: if two people "are of the same wavelength", they can talk to each other. The closer they are, the easier. That's not physical, of course, but is an analogy for physics: if the receiving system has a colour filter on its input, the light you're sending needs to be of that wavelength (or frequency, since that's directly related) or close enough to get through. So if you want to maximise that two people are a match for each other (the "right tool"), you want to minimize the "difference in wavelength". But then I think there is more to it than just the wavelength: it's also about the characteristics of the sending object. An amplifier and speaker pair needs to have about the same impedance for the amplifier to be able to output sound of a fair volume level through the speaker. Such systems are coupled bidirectionally (the speaker can divert the energy back into the amplifier), and that's where I think it gets complicated to a level where you and me zone out unless we study the math.

rawgabbit 4y ago

I never understood the impedance mismatch jargon. It still is unintuitive to me.

pflanze 4y ago
I might actually go and track down and use the math on some example, and actually go through it myself for the first time--if I had the time. But I'm just barely non-busy enough to read HN at all right now. Maybe wavelength of light and a filter is actually having the same thing happening underneath, and is used often in common talk: if two people "are of the same wavelength", they can talk to each other. The closer they are, the easier. That's not physical, of course, but is an analogy for physics: if the receiving system has a colour filter on its input, the light you're sending needs to be of that wavelength (or frequency, since that's directly related) or close enough to get through. So if you want to maximise that two people are a match for each other (the "right tool"), you want to minimize the "difference in wavelength". But then I think there is more to it than just the wavelength: it's also about the characteristics of the sending object. An amplifier and speaker pair needs to have about the same impedance for the amplifier to be able to output sound of a fair volume level through the speaker. Such systems are coupled bidirectionally (the speaker can divert the energy back into the amplifier), and that's where I think it gets complicated to a level where you and me zone out unless we study the math.