Nuclear radiations emitted by disintegrating nuclei cannot be sensed directly. Indirect methods are employed to detect them. The Geiger Muller Counter is a radiation detector that is used for detection and measurement of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. The other radiation detectors are Ionization chamber and scintillation counters. The Geiger Muller (GM) tube consists of … Read more
A digital voltmeter (DVM) is truly a voltage measuring unit where unknown analog DC voltage is to be measured i.e. first converted to digital form and then displayed on seven segment display. The accuracy, versatility, precision, robustness of Digital electronic devices cannot be matched with that of Analog devices as the former ones are far more … Read more
Fig. NTC Thermistors (source: ussensor.com) Thermistors These are the thermally sensitive resistors. The resistance of a thermistor varies as a function of temperature. The thermistor is also called thermal resistors. It is a resistive temperature transducer. Thermistors are composed of semiconductor materials. It is composed of a sintered mixture of metallic oxides such as Mn, … Read more
Fig: LVDT cross-section (source: te.com ) Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) is an inductive transducer that we discussed in the previous article. It is basically used to translate linear motion into electrical signals. LVDT Construction LVDT consists of one primary winding and two secondary windings. All these windings are wound on a cylindrical former. … Read more
Fig. Strain Gauges (source: omega.com) Strain gauge A strain gauge is an electrical transducer which is used for measuring mechanical surface strain. Basic Principle of Strain Gauge When stress is applied to the metal conductor, its resistance changes owing to change in length and cross-sectional area of the conductor. The resistance of the conductor under … Read more
Fig. Thermocouple (source: sterlingsensors.co.uk) What is a Thermocouple? A thermocouple consists of a pair of dissimilar wires joined at one end. It is an active transducer. On the other hand, RTD and thermistors are passive transducers. Thermocouple work on the principle of Seebeck effect. According to Seebeck effect, if two dissimilar metals are joined together … Read more
Piezoelectric Transducer A piezoelectric transducer is one that can generate a voltage proportional to the stress applied to it. These transducers work according to the piezoelectric effect. When a mechanical force or pressure is applied across the piezoelectric crystal, an electric potential appears across the surfaces of crystal. This generation of electric potential is due … Read more
Hall Effect Transducers Hall Effect Transducers are the transducers which work on the principle of hall effect. According to hall effect, if a conducting material strip carries current in the presence of a transverse magnetic field; an EMF is produced between two edges of the conductor in a direction perpendicular to both the magnetic field … Read more
Virtual instrumentation combines thought industrial Technologies, like the personal computer with versatile software and a large variety of measurement and control hardware. Engineers use virtual instrumentation to bring the facility of flexible software and personal computer technology to test, control, and design applications making accurate analog and digital measurements. Virtual instrumentation is a pc software … Read more
A transducer is a device which, when actuated transforms energy from one form to another. Here input quantity is non-electrical quantity. The output quantity may or may not be electrical quantity. When the output quantity is electrical, then transducer is called as Electrical Transducer. An electrical transducer is a device which converts any physical quantity … Read more