

Usually, a comparator will have one input that has a set (and known voltage). In this way, you can see how a comparator is used to check voltage levels.

If the voltage goes below 5 volts, then the output of the op amp will be low (it will be whatever voltage is supplied to the V-terminal). If it goes above 5 volts, then the output of the LM741 will be high (it will be whatever voltage is supplied to the V+ terminal of the op amp).

If one of the voltages going into the LM741 is 5V and the other is a voltage divider circuit, we can tell whether the other voltage goes below or above the 5 volts. For example, say that we are using the LM741 op amp as a comparator and we have 2 inputs we are monitoring. Comparators are very useful for many different types of electronic circuits. Therefore, we can make decisions based on which input has larger voltage. A voltage comparator is an electronic device that can compare voltages that are on its inputs to determine which is larger or which is smaller. We will go over how the LM741 operational amplifier IC can be used as a voltage comparator.
