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Sensors
A sensor is a device which measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. more...
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For example, a mercury thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube. A thermocouple converts temperature to an output voltage which can be read by a voltmeter. For accuracy, all sensors need to be calibrated against known standards.
Sensors are used in everyday objects such as touch-sensitive elevator buttons and lamps which dim or brighten by touching the base. There are also innumerable applications for sensors of which most people are never aware. Applications include automobiles, machines, aerospace, medicine, industry, and robotics.
A sensor's sensitivity indicates how much the sensor's output changes when the measured quantity changes. For instance, if the mercury in a thermometer moves 1cm when the temperature changes by 1°, the sensitivity is 1cm/1°. Sensors that measure very small changes must have very high sensitivities.
Technological progress allows more and more sensors to be manufactured on a microscopic scale as microsensors using MEMS technology. In most cases, a microsensor reaches a significantly higher speed and sensitivity compared with macroscopic approaches. See also MEMS sensor generations.
Types
Because sensors are a type of transducer, they change one form of energy into another. For this reason, sensors can be classified according to the type of energy transfer that they detect.
Thermal
temperature sensors: thermometers, thermocouples, temperature sensitive resistors (thermistors and resistance temperature detectors), bi-metal thermometers and thermostats;
heat sensors: bolometer, calorimeter, heat flux sensor;
Electromagnetic
electrical resistance sensors: ohmmeter, multimeter;
electrical current sensors: galvanometer, ammeter;
electrical voltage sensors: leaf electroscope, voltmeter;
electrical power sensors: watt-hour meters;
magnetism sensors: magnetic compass, fluxgate compass, magnetometer, Hall effect device;
metal detectors;
RADAR;
Mechanical
pressure sensors: altimeter, barometer, barograph, pressure gauge, air speed indicator, rate-of-climb indicator, variometer;
gas and liquid flow sensors: flow sensor, anemometer, flow meter, gas meter, water meter, mass flow sensor;
gas and liquid viscosity and density: viscometer, hydrometer, oscillating U-tube;
mechanical sensors: acceleration sensor, position sensor, selsyn, switch, strain gauge;
humidity sensors: hygrometer;
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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