"Jerry Peters" wrote in message ...

I'd say amplification is a *sufficient* condition but not a necessary
one. A diode can be used as a switch, without amplifying, which
I would argue makes it an active device.

So then a light switch is an active device? Hello?

The remarks made here are classic examples of opening one's mouth and stating
whatever pops into one's head, without giving it the least bit of thought.

There's no point in discussing it further. If a device cannot amplify (in the
ordinary, common-sense meaning of the word), it is not an active device.
Otherwise, you could twist the definition so that any and every electronic
component was an active device.

Case closed.