system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is it possible to combine traditional circuit components (resistors, capacitors, etc.) in a circuit in a manner that they together behave like a semiconductor component (a diode,say), while not actually containing any semiconductor?

I have recently learnt about semiconductor devices and their various properties and uses. I was wondering if components like resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. could be joined so as to mimic a semiconductor device. Please explain why and how this is possible/not possible.
gpt
At the heart this is a bit of a complicated question, but let me just answer the base question:

No. The fundamental difference between passive (pure impedances) and active devices is the latter's ability to increase information or information power, whereas passive devices can only attenuate. There is no way to build a switch, amplifier or diode from pure impedances exactly because of this reason.

That being said: the converse is not true. Semiconductors can mimic impedances, sometimes even better than purpose-built impedances. This fact is used in active filters to avoid the need for physically large passive filters with undesirable parasitics.