Demystifying Negative Resistance: How Circuits Can Generate Power

Demystifying Negative Resistance: How Circuits Can Generate Power

I explore the counterintuitive concept of negative resistance, where a component appears to generate energy rather than dissipate it. While physical resistors always consume power, I explain how operational amplifiers can create circuits that mimic negative resistance by backfeeding current. This analysis clarifies the physics behind the phenomenon and demonstrates a practical circuit design that achieves this effect within specific voltage limits.

If R is negative and I = V / R, then the current-to-voltage plot will have a downward slope, implying that the component would need to extract energy from its surroundings and put it back into the circuit.

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2026-07-26