Potentiometer: Working and Types
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Potentiometer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the electrical component. For the measuring instrument, see Potentiometer (measuring instrument). Potentiometer | A typical single-turn potentiometer | Type | Passive | Electronic symbol | (International) (US) |
A potentiometer ( /pɵˌtɛnʃiˈɒmɨtər/), informally, a pot, in electronics technology is a component, a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.[1] If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat.
A potentiometer measuring instrument is essentially a voltage divider used for measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle, hence its name.
Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on audio equipment. Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used as position transducers, for example, in a joystick. Potentiometers are rarely used to directly control significant power (more than a watt), since the power dissipated in the potentiometer would be comparable to the power in the controlled load.
PCB mount trimmer potentiometers, or "trimpots", intended for infrequent adjustment. Contents [hide] * 1 Potentiometer construction * 1.1 Resistance–position relationship: "taper" * 1.1.1 Linear taper potentiometer * 1.1.2 Logarithmic potentiometer * 2 Rheostat * 3 Digital potentiometer * 4 Membrane potentiometer * 5 Potentiometer applications * 5.1 Audio control * 5.2 Television * 5.3 Motion Control * 5.4 Transducers * 5.5 Computation * 6 Theory of operation * 7 Early patents * 8 See also * 9 References * 10 External links |
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[edit]Potentiometer construction
Potentiometers comprise a resistive element, a sliding
Potentiometer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the electrical component. For the measuring instrument, see Potentiometer (measuring instrument). Potentiometer | A typical single-turn potentiometer | Type | Passive | Electronic symbol | (International) (US) |
A potentiometer ( /pɵˌtɛnʃiˈɒmɨtər/), informally, a pot, in electronics technology is a component, a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.[1] If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat.
A potentiometer measuring instrument is essentially a voltage divider used for measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle, hence its name.
Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on audio equipment. Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used as position transducers, for example, in a joystick. Potentiometers are rarely used to directly control significant power (more than a watt), since the power dissipated in the potentiometer would be comparable to the power in the controlled load.
PCB mount trimmer potentiometers, or "trimpots", intended for infrequent adjustment. Contents [hide] * 1 Potentiometer construction * 1.1 Resistance–position relationship: "taper" * 1.1.1 Linear taper potentiometer * 1.1.2 Logarithmic potentiometer * 2 Rheostat * 3 Digital potentiometer * 4 Membrane potentiometer * 5 Potentiometer applications * 5.1 Audio control * 5.2 Television * 5.3 Motion Control * 5.4 Transducers * 5.5 Computation * 6 Theory of operation * 7 Early patents * 8 See also * 9 References * 10 External links |
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[edit]Potentiometer construction
Potentiometers comprise a resistive element, a sliding