A potentiometer is an electrical device that changes the resistance value to control the current and measure the electromotive force of the battery. There are many kinds of potentiometers, which have the characteristics of small size, long life, high reliability, simple structure, etc., and are used in many fields.
What does a potentiometer do?
A potentiometer limits the current by providing a resistance value. This means that it can increase or decrease the circuit current. It can also be used as an adjustable voltage divider. Based on this function, the potentiometer can also measure the electromotive force.
Examples: 1k resistance potentiometer, 10k potentiometer and 100k potentiometer
"k" stands for thousand ohms. The numeric value represents the resistance value. 1k means that the pot will provide up to 1000 ohms of resistance. 10k and 100k mean that their resistance is ten times and 1 times higher than that of 100k, respectively. The lower the resistance value, the greater the current absorbed by the potentiometer. Similarly, a 500k potentiometer means that its resistance value is 0 to 500 kohms.
How potentiometers work
Potentiometers have some basic working principles. A potentiometer has two terminals as inputs (marked red and green in the diagram). An input voltage is applied across the resistor. The output voltage is then measured. It is the difference between fixed and mobile contacts. Wipers play a vital role here. While optimizing the output voltage as needed, it is also necessary to move the tap along the resistive element. When measuring the electromotive force of a battery, moving the slider helps to balance the galvanometer. Now it acts as a voltage divider as it continuously produces a variable voltage. Based on this concept, the potentiometer measures the electromotive force.
How is a potentiometer used as a voltage divider?
When the slider of the pan is moved to the right, it causes the resistance to drop, which in turn causes a smaller voltage drop. After that, if you move the tap to the left, the resistance value will eventually increase. No, there is also a voltage drop, but this time it is more than before. Therefore we can conclude that the output voltage is directly related to the position of the tap. The voltage drop is calculated by subtracting from the source voltage.
Application scenarios of potentiometers
Variable Resistors: One of the main applications of potentiometers is potentiometers or tunable resistors. A potentiometer can change the current and resistance of a circuit at the same time.
EMF Measurements: As mentioned earlier, they are capable of measuring electromotive force. It has partial pressure characteristics which helps to find out the electromotive force. It is the basic equipment for implementation – voltmeter, ammeter and power meter. This also compares the electromotive force of two different units.
Control Audio: One of the modern uses of pots and pans is audio control. The main ingredient is – a rotating pan. It can attenuate noise, change frequency, clarity (intensity), loudness, etc. The audio cone can is one of a kind.
Transducer: It can measure both linear and rotational displacement. It converts linear or angular displacement into voltage. The movable body is connected to the wiper. As the position of the slider changes, so does the resistance and voltage. The change in voltage gives the displacement of the human body.
TV: A pot can control the color intensity, brightness, and color saturation of the TV.
