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Sensor - Types of Sensor - Electrical4u

A sensor is a device that converts a physical quantity to be measured into a signal that can be read, displayed, or used to control another quantity. Sensors measure characteristics of objects or devices. For example, a thermocouple senses heat energy (temperature) and produces an output voltage proportional to the temperature. Sensors must be calibrated against a standard for accurate measurement. Sensors are classified based on the type of quantity measured, such as acoustic, automotive, chemical, electrical, environmental, optical, mechanical, thermal, and proximity sensors. Good sensors have characteristics like high sensitivity, linearity, resolution, and low noise and power consumption.

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187 views2 pages

Sensor - Types of Sensor - Electrical4u

A sensor is a device that converts a physical quantity to be measured into a signal that can be read, displayed, or used to control another quantity. Sensors measure characteristics of objects or devices. For example, a thermocouple senses heat energy (temperature) and produces an output voltage proportional to the temperature. Sensors must be calibrated against a standard for accurate measurement. Sensors are classified based on the type of quantity measured, such as acoustic, automotive, chemical, electrical, environmental, optical, mechanical, thermal, and proximity sensors. Good sensors have characteristics like high sensitivity, linearity, resolution, and low noise and power consumption.

Uploaded by

Shekhar Sharma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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6/6/2016

Sensor|TypesofSensor|Electrical4u

Sensor
Asensorisadevicewhichiscapableofconvertinganyphysicalquantitytobemeasuredintoasignalwhichcanberead,
displayed,storedorusedtocontrolsomeotherquantity.Thissignalproducedbythesensorisequivalenttothequantitytobe
measured.Sensorsareusedtomeasureaparticularcharacteristicofanyobjectordevice.Forexampleathermocouple,a
thermocouplewillsenseheatenergy(temperature)atoneofitsjunctionandproduceequivalentoutputvoltagewhichcanbe
measuredbyavoltmeter.Morethetemperaturerise,higherthevoltagereadbythevoltmeter.
Allsensorsneedtobecalibratedwithrespectwithsomereferencevalueorstandarddeviceforaccuratemeasurement.Belowis
thefigureofathermocouple.

Notethatatransducerandasensorarenotthesame.Intheabovegivenexampleofthermocouple.Thethermocoupleactsasa
transducerbuttheadditionalcircuitsorcomponentsneededlikethevoltmeter,adisplayetctogetherfromatemperaturesensor.
Hencethetransducerwilljustconverttheenergyfromoneformtoanotherandalltheremainingworkisdonebytheadditional
circuitsconnected.Thiswholedeviceformsasensor.Sensorsandtransducersarecloselyrelatedtoeachother.

CharacteristicsofSensors
Agoodsensorshouldhavethefollowingcharacteristics
1.HighSensitivity:Sensitivityindicateshowmuchtheoutputofthedevicechangeswithunit
changeininput(quantitytobemeasured).Forexamplethevoltageofatemperaturesensor
changesby1mVforevery1Cchangeintemperaturethanthesensitivityofthesensoris
saidtobe1mV/C.
2.Linearity:Theoutputshouldchangelinearlywiththeinput.
3.HighResolution:Resolutionisthesmallestchangeintheinputthatthedevicecandetect.
4.LessNoiseandDisturbance.
5.Lesspowerconsumption.

TypesofSensors
Sensorsareclassifiedbasedonthenatureofquantitytheymeasure.Followingarethetypesofsensorswithfewexamples.
1.Acousticandsoundsensors
e.g.:Microphone,Hydrophone.
2.Automotivesensors
e.g.:Speedometer,Radargun,Speedometer,fuelratiometer.
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Sensor|TypesofSensor|Electrical4u

3.ChemicalSensors
e.g.:Phsensor,Sensorstodetectpresencesofdifferentgasesorliquids.
4.ElectricandMagneticSensors
e.g.:Galvanometer,Hallsensor(measuresfluxdensity),Metaldetector.
5.EnvironmentalSensors
e.g.:Raingauge,snowgauge,moisturesensor.
6.OpticalSensors
e.g.:Photodiode,Phototransistor,Wavefrontsensor.
7.MechanicalSensors
e.g.:StrainGauge,Potentialmeter(measuresdisplacement).
8.ThermalandTemperaturesensors.
e.g.:Calorimeter,Thermocouple,Thermistor,Gardongauge.
9.ProximityandPresencessensors
Aproximityorpresencessensoristheonewhichisabletodetectthepresencesofnearby
objects without any physical contact. They usually emit electromagnetic radiations and
detectthechangesinreflectedsignalifany.
e.g.:Dopplerradar,Motiondetector.

Furtherclassificationcanbedonebasedontheprincipleofoperationandnatureofoutputsignal(analogordigital).

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