How do Amps work?

I had amps all wrong. I thought that if you Bridged the speaker wire to the amp that you cheated the amp and got double the max wattage for the amp. My brother heard that and told me I was wrong. So I was wondering if someone could shed some light on how an amp works. I also just got ahold of 2-15" Sony Xplod Subs 1400W each. I'm looking for advice on an Amp(s) for them. Thanks for the help:uhoh::frown::1zhelp::feedback: