Op Amps are basic building blocks of analog circuits. They are used in several signal conditioning tasks such as voltage amplification, filtering, and mathematical operations. An important characteristic of an op amp is its speed. Ideally, op amps function infinitely fast with infinite gain at all frequencies, but in reality, they have finite speeds. But, what causes an op amp to have finite speed in the first place? This happens because real life op amps are limited by finite impedances at nodes. Impedance at a node is determined by the amount of resistance and capacitance at a node. As frequency increases, capacitance behaves more like a “short” leading to lower impedances and hence lower gains. Eventually, a point comes when the signal starts getting “lost”. It is this point which limits how fast an op amp can work. Characteristics and Functions of Three Operational Amplifiers A difference amplifier is the first known application of the Op Amps. The original function of th...