electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

, a norator is a theoretical

linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...

time-invariant In control theory, a time-invariant (TI) system has a time-dependent system function that is not a direct function of time. Such systems are regarded as a class of systems in the field of system analysis. The time-dependent system function is ...

one-port In electrical circuit theory, a port is a pair of terminals connecting an electrical network or circuit to an external circuit, as a point of entry or exit for electrical energy. A port consists of two nodes (terminals) connected to an outsid ...

which can have an arbitrary

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hydr ...

and

voltage Voltage, also known as (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a Electrostatics, static electric field, it corresponds to the Work (electrical), ...

between its terminals. A norator represents a controlled voltage or

current source A current source is an electronic circuit that delivers or absorbs an electric current which is independent of the voltage across it. A current source is the dual of a voltage source. The term ''current sink'' is sometimes used for sources fed ...

with infinite gain. {{cite book , author=Verhoeven C J M van Staveren A Monna G L E Kouwenhoven M H L & Yildiz E , title=Structured electronic design: negative feedback amplifiers , year= 2003 , publisher=Kluwer Academic , location=Boston/Dordrecht/London , isbn=1-4020-7590-1 , pages=§2.2.1.1 pp. 30–32 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p8wDptzCMrUC&pg=PA24 Inserting a norator in a circuit schematic provides whatever current and voltage the outside circuit demands, in particular, the demands of

Kirchhoff's circuit laws Kirchhoff's circuit laws are two equalities that deal with the current and potential difference (commonly known as voltage) in the lumped element model of electrical circuits. They were first described in 1845 by German physicist Gustav Kirc ...

. For example, the output of an ideal

opamp An operational amplifier (often op amp or opamp) is a DC-coupled electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input, a (usually) single-ended output, and an extremely high gain. Its name comes from its original use of performing mathemat ...

behaves as a norator, producing nonzero output voltage and current that meet circuit requirements despite a zero input. A norator is often paired with a

nullator In electronics, a nullator is a theoretical linear, time-invariant one-port defined as having zero current and voltage across its terminals. Nullators are strange in the sense that they simultaneously have properties of both a short (zero voltag ...

to form a nullor. A nullator in parallel with a norator is equivalent to a short (zero voltage any current). A nullator in series with a norator is an open circuit (zero current, any voltage).

References

External links

Norator article from Analog Insydes reference
Electrical components Control theory Signal processing Analog circuits Electronic design