system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: When you turn down or up the volume on devices with either a wheel or button, what actually happens that allows it to sound quieter or louder?
gpt
A volume knob or wheel is an example of a device called a *potentiometer*, which is a device that adjusts the voltage going down a wire by increasing or decreasing the electrical resistance.

If the resistance increases (if you turn the volume knob down), then less voltage makes it to the speaker, the cone vibrates less intensely, and the sound is quieter. The opposite is true if you turn the volume up.