RMG MAHESHWARI ENGLISH SCHOOL

AISSCE 2022-2023
PHYSICS (042)

PROJECT
[POTENTIOMETER]

Submitted By:-
Roll no:-
Class:- XII SCIENCE

Submitted To:- Mr. Gaurang Javiya

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Index:

 Certificate

 Acknowledgement

 Introduction

 History

 Precautions with Potentiometer

 Characteristics of Potentiometers

 Construction of Potentiometers and Working Principle

 Types of Potentiometer

 What does a potentiometer do and how does it work?

 What is a potentiometer used for?

 A Potentiometer Circuit

 Conclusion

 Bibliography
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Chemistry teacher Mr.

GAURANG JAVIYA as well as our principal Mr. V.K. MISHRA who gave me the
golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic POTENTIOMETER,
which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about so many
new things. I am really thankful to them.

Secondly I would also like to thank my friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this
project within the limited time frame.

I am making this project not only for marks but also for increase my knowledge.

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DECLARATION:

I hereby declare that this Project Report titled “Potentiometer” submitted to ‘RMG
Maheshwari English Medium School’ is a record of original work done by me under
the guidance of Mr. Gaurang Javiya.

The information and data given in the report is authentic to the best of my knowledge.

-Dhruv C. Chaudhari

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CERTIFICATE:

This is to certify that DHRUV C. CHAUDHARI a student of class 12th (Science) has
successfully completed the project on the topic POTENTIOMETER under the
guidance of Mrs. GAURANG JAVIYA (Subject teacher), during academic session
2022-2023. This project is absolutely genuine and does not indulge in plagiarism of
any kind. The Conclusion taken in making this project has been declared at the end of
this report.

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Introduction:
A potentiometer, informally a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating
contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.

The measuring instrument called a potentiometer is essentially a voltage divider used

for measuring electric potential (voltage) the component is an implementation of the
same principle, hence its name.

Potentiometer having various uses and application also uses in electronic circuit. It
also used for like a measuring instrument.

This is a very basic instrument used for comparing EMF two cells and for calibrating
ammeter, voltmeter and watt-meter.

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History:
The moving coil and digital volt meters, potentiometers were used in measuring
voltage. The method was described by Johann Christian Poggendorff around 1841 and
became a standard laboratory measuring technique.

The idea of a device that could be used to control the amount of electricity going to a
component was thought by many people, the carbon potentiometer we commonly use
today was invented by Thomas Edison in 1872 at the age of 25. He called this device a
"coiled resistance wire rheostat".

Precautions with Potentiometer:

 emf of the cell connecting in primary circuit must be more than or equal to the
emf of the cell of secondary circuit otherwise zero deflection can’t be obtained.
 All the high potential points or positive terminals should be connected at A.
 Balancing length should be calculated from A.
 The potentiometer wire must be uniform.

What are Potentiometers made of?

Potentiometers are made of resistive materials. These materials include carbon
composition, wire-wound, conductive plastic, and cermet.

Carbon is the most common material that is used for creating potentiometers. Carbon
is affordable and its wear characteristics are perfect for making a potentiometer.

Pots that are made from wire-wound are long-lasting and have high accuracy. They
are usually used when high power applications are needed.

Conductive plastic unlike wire-wound feels very smooth in your hand. It can perform
many cycles before wearing down. The downside of these material types is that they

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are expensive and are suitable for high-end equipment since they can provide a high
resolution as well as low noise levels.

Cermet is among materials that can handle different temperatures, whether high or
low. The problem whit this material is that they are also expensive like conductive
plastic and they can only handle a small number of cycles. They are perfect for
systems that don’t require regular adjusting.

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Characteristics of Potentiometers:
 All potentiometers have the same characteristics, no matter their size, shapes,
etc.:
 Three terminals: If you’ve ever searched “what is potentiometer”, all the
answers you saw showed that this particular unit contains three terminals. So,
potentiometer connection points are three, no matter the type or the size.
 All potentiometers have a movable part (it can be a slider, a knob, or a screw).
You can move this part easily to vary the resistance between two terminals (one
of them is the middle one.)
 We can change the resistance between the middle terminal and one of the outer
terminals ranging from zero to the maximum resistance.
 The maximum resistance of the potentiometer is the resistance between the two
outer terminals of a potentiometer. This number is constant and is fixed. You
can’t change this resistance by moving the slider, knob, or screw.

 A Potentiometer (Lab Use)

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Construction of Potentiometers:
 A normal potentiometer contains different parts such as three terminals, a
resistor, a wiper, a shaft, and some wires. The potentiometer’s body is
constructed from resistive materials. It is normally from the carbon particles in
graphite, plastic, resistive wires, and other materials that are combined from
ceramics and metals called Cermet.
 Each potentiometer contains two parts: sliding and non-sliding sections. The
wiper is the sliding contact of the potentiometer which is movable with the
wire. The movement of wipers can be either rotational or translator or even both
of these motions.
 Two terminals of the potentiometers are connected to both ends of your
resistive element (AKA the track) while the third one is connected to the sliding
contact (the wiper or sliding wiper). This terminal has been designed to control
the variable resistor. You can change the applying potential at the resistor’s end
to control the potential of the third terminal. The resistive element can be
angled or flat. With the angled one, the wiper should move rotary and with the
flat design, the wiper moves linearly.

Potentiometer Working Principle:

The potentiometer consists of L which is a long resistive wire and a battery of known
EMF V whose voltage is known as driver cell voltage.

Assume a primary circuit arrangement by connecting the two ends of L to the battery
terminals. One end of the primary circuit is connected to the cell whose EMF E is to
be measured and the other end is connected to galvanometer G. This circuit is
assumed to be a secondary circuit.

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The working principle depends on the potential across any portion of the wire which is
directly proportional to the length of the wire that has a uniform cross-sectional area
and current flow is constant.

 Following is the derivation of used to explain the potentiometer working

principle:

V=IRV=IR
Where,

I: current

R: total resistance

V: voltage

R= ρL/A

V = IρL/A

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Where,

⍴: resistivity

A: cross-sectional area

With ⍴ and A constant, I is constant too for a rheostat.

Lρ/A = K V = KLE = Lρx/A = Kx

Where,

x: length of potentiometer wire

E: cell with Lower EMF

K: constant

The galvanometer G has null detection as the potential difference is equal to zero and
there is no flow of current. So, x is the length of the null point. Unknown EMF can be
found by knowing x and K.

E = Lρx/A = Kx

Since the EMF has two cells, let L1 be the null point length of the first cell with EMF
E1 and L2 be the null point length of the second cell with EMF E2.

Potentiometer Diagram:

The potentiometer has two symbols, one of them is considered as its international
standard symbol and the other one is the American symbol used to show
potentiometers. The IEC standard symbol for the potentiometer is a rectangle between

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two straight lines and the ANSI standard potentiometer symbol contains two straight
lines with zigzag lines in the middle. You can see these two symbols below.

A Normal Potentiometer:

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Types of Potentiometer:
There are usually three types of potentiometer:

1. Trimmer Pot or Trim pot:

This potentiometer type is usually used for fine-tuning an electrical signal and
is typically adjusted once or very infrequently for such purposes.
2. Thumb Pot or Thumbwheel Pot:
Thumbwheel pot has been designed in a way that is adjusted by a small
thumbwheel. This small rotating potentiometer is also used for infrequent
adjustments.
3. Slide Pot or Slider Pot:
The third most popular potentiometer type is slide pot or slider pot. Depending
on the installation of this design, you can either move the wiper up and down or
left and right for adjustment purposes. This construction is divided into two
main types: Rotary Potentiometer and Linear Potentiometer.

 Rotary Potentiometer is normally used for obtaining an adjustable supply

voltage to an electrical circuit or a part of an electronic circuit. You can move

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 the wiper on the semi-circular resistance that is placed between the
potentiometer’s two terminal contacts with the help of a knob. The radio
transistor’s volume controller has a rotary potentiometer and its knob is used to
control the supply to the amplifier.

 Linear Potentiometer works the same as a rotary potentiometer but the

movement, as you can guess, is linear on the resistor. A track is attached along

with the resistor that enables the slide of the sliding contact on the resistor. You

can use linear potentiometers to measure the battery cell’s internal resistance, the

voltage across a circuit’s branch, etc. the most popular example of using such

potentiometers is in the equalizer of music and sound mixing systems.

What does a potentiometer do and how does it work?

1) The potentiometer works on the principle that when a constant current flows

through a wire of uniform cross sectional area, potential difference between

its two points is directly proportional to the length of the wire between the

two points.

2) Slide the jockey gently over the potentiometer wire till you get null

deflection in the galvanometer.

3) Plug in the key K2 to get the accurate position of the null (or balance) point.

The resistance in the resistance box limits the current flowing through the

galvanometer.

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 4) The balancing point in potentiometer is the point on the slide wire where the

galvanometer shows zero deflection.

5) Their sliding contact or wiper moves to provide a uniform resistance. The

input voltage in potentiometers is applied across the resistor’s length. The

voltage drop that happens between the fixed and sliding contact shows the

output voltage. This is shown in the picture below:

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What is a potentiometer used for?
Potentiometers have different applications:

Advantages of Potentiometer:

 Used as a voltage divider in the electronic circuit.

 The standardization of potentiometer can be done directly with a standard cell.
 This is highly sensitive so can be used to measure small emf.
 To control electrical devices such as volume controls on audio equipment.
 Audio control:
Both linear, as well as rotary potentiometers, are used to control audio
 Equipment for changing the loudness and other audio related signals.
 Television:
They are used to control the picture brightness, color response and contrast.
 Motion control:
In order to create a closed-loop control, potentiometers are used as position
 Feedback devices known as a servomechanism.
 Transducers:
As these give large output signals, they find applications in designing of
displacement transducers.
 Volume control.
 It could also be used as a sensor.
 Potentiometer is used for adjustment to electrical current.

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Disadvantages of potentiometer:

 It is slow in operation.
 It has low accuracy.
 It has limited bandwidth.
 If you use a linear potentiometer, you should apply a large force to move the
sliding contact.
 There is a possibility of friction and wear due to the sliding of the wiper across
the resistive element.

Potentiometer Circuit:
A potentiometer is connected to a circuit via its three terminals. Two of the terminals
that are fixed are connected to both ends of the resistive elements and the other one
will be connected to the wiper. The diagram below shows the voltage supply that is
connected across the two fixed terminals and the middle terminal is connected to the
wiper.

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Conclusion:
Potentiometer is electronic circuit. This is a very basic instrument used for comparing
EMF two cells and for calibrating ammeter, voltmeter and watt-meter.

It has various application and its uses.

Potentiometer provides fixed value of resistance that block or resists the flow of
electrical current around a circuit.

The potentiometer commonly referred to as a “pot” is a three terminal.

Today potentiometer is much smaller and much more accurate those early large and
bulky variable resistances, and with most electronic component, there are many
different types and name ranging from variable resister, present, trimmer, and rheostat
and of course variable potentiometer.

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Bibliography:

 https://byjus.com/physics/potentiometer-working/
 https://www.vedantu.com/physics/potentiometer-working
 https://thefactfactor.com/facts/pure_science/physics/potentiometer/6091/
 https://www.elprocus.com/potentiometer-construction-working-and
applications/
 https://eepower.com/resistor-guide/resistor-types/potentiometer/
 Class 12 Physics NCERT Textbook.

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 Thank

You

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