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The Measurement of Current

An ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter are used to measure current, voltage, and resistance respectively in an electric circuit. These devices often combine into a multimeter. Nondigital meters use a galvanometer at the core, which detects current through a coil rotated by a magnet. An ammeter has a low resistance shunt connected in parallel to allow current above the galvanometer's limit to bypass it. A voltmeter connects a high resistance in series to measure voltage across a circuit. Converting a galvanometer involves adjusting the parallel or series resistances to achieve the desired full-scale readings.

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Bert Rosete
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107 views2 pages

The Measurement of Current

An ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter are used to measure current, voltage, and resistance respectively in an electric circuit. These devices often combine into a multimeter. Nondigital meters use a galvanometer at the core, which detects current through a coil rotated by a magnet. An ammeter has a low resistance shunt connected in parallel to allow current above the galvanometer's limit to bypass it. A voltmeter connects a high resistance in series to measure voltage across a circuit. Converting a galvanometer involves adjusting the parallel or series resistances to achieve the desired full-scale readings.

Uploaded by

Bert Rosete
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Measurement of current, Voltage and Resistance

The current, voltage, and resistance in an electric circuit are measured by an ammeter, voltmeter, and
ohmmeter, respectively. Most of the times, these three meters are combined to form a multimeter which can be
switched from one to another. There are two types of such meters: those that use digital electronics and those
that do not. The heart of nondigital meters is a galvanometer.

A galvanometer is an electric device primarily used to detect the presence of current. It was named after
the Italian anatomist Luigi Galvani who became famous during his time because of his experiments on “animal
electricity” using frogs as a specimen. A galvanometer basically consists of a coil wire that is free to rotate
between the poles of a permanent magnet. The coil rotates whenever current passes through it. A pointer on a
scale that gives reading proportional to the current indicates the amount of rotation of the coil.

An ammeter is a galvanometer with a low resistance, called shunt resistor, connected parallel to it. The
shunt resistor provides a bypass for the current in excess of the galvanometer’s full-scale limit. An ammeter is
always connected in series with the circuit element whose current is to be determined.

Sample Problem:
A galvanometer has a coil resistance of 50.0Ω and a full-scale current of 1.0mA. Convert this into an
ammeter reading 10.0 A full scale?

Solution:

To convert the galvanometer to an ammeter, we have to connect a resistor R p parallel to it. Let Ip and Vp
be the current passing through and the voltage across resistor R p respectively. Let RG, IG and VG represent the
resistance, the current passing through and the voltage across the galvanometer, respectively.

We are given:
RG = 50.0 Ω
IG = 1.0 mA (convert) 0.001A
I (total current) = 10.0A

By law of parallel resistors, I= IG + Ip


10A= 0.001A + Ip

Solving for Ip:


Ip= 10A - 0.001
= 9.999A
Again by law of parallel resistors, VT = Vp = VG
Using Ohm’s law, Ip Rp = IG RG (manipulate formula to find for Rp)
IGR
Rp= I G

p
Substituting values,
(0.001 A )(50.0 Ω)
Rp=
9.999 A
Rp= 0.0050 Ω
Practice Exercise:
A galvanometer with a resistance of 15.0 Ω gives a full-scale reading for a current of 3.0 amperes.
Convert this galvanometer to an ammeter giving a full-scale deflection for a current of 30.0A.

A voltmeter is a device that measures the emf or potential difference between two points in a circuit. It is
a galvanometer with a high resistance in series. A voltmeter is connected across or parallel to that part of circuit
element where potential difference is to be determined.
Sample Problem:
Convert the galvanometer in Sample Problem 1 to a voltmeter reading 3.0V full scale.

Solution:
The galvanometer in the preceding example has a resistance of 50.0 Ω and full-scale deflection current
of 0.0010A. Using Ohm’s law, we determine the maximum voltage it can measure.
To convert this to a voltmeter that can read up to 3.0V, a resistance R s must be connected in series with
the galvanometer,
IG = IS = 0.0010A

To solve for VS:


VT= VG+ VS (Manipulate formula):
VT
VS= V
G

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