Nonlinear

(Scientific computation) A property of a system whose output is not proportional to its input.

For example, a transistor has a region of input voltages for which its output voltage is found by multiplying the input voltage by the gain of the transistor.

Outside this region though, the transistor behaves non-linearly, meaning that it does not obey this simple equation.

The behaviour of a system containing non-linear components is thus harder to model and to predict.

[Jargon File]

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