PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

To Light A Led Using A Thermistor

CONTENT
i. Certificate
ii. Acknowledgement
iii. Introduction
iv. Theory
v. Working
vi. Apparatus
vii. Procedure
viii. Observation
ix. Conclusion
x. Advantage
xi. Application
xii. References

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Aysha a student of class 12 has
successfully completed physics investigatory project on
the topic to light a led using a thermistor under the
supervision of teacher Vani Goel, during the year 2023-
2024 conducted by AISSCE, New Delhi.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project wouldn’t have been possible without the
kind support and help of a lot of people. I would like
to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every
one of them. I would like to express my gratitude to
my teacher, Ma’am Vani, for providing me with the
excellent opportunity to conduct this wonderful
project on the working of a thermistor, which also
allowed me to do a lot of research. I am thankful for
her guidance and constant supervision as well as for
providing necessary information regarding the
project. I would also like to thank my parents and
friends for their kind cooperation and
encouragement, which greatly assisted me in
completing this project.

INTRODUCTION
What is a Thermistor?
A resistor whose electrical resistance changes in
response to temperature variations is known as a
thermistor (also known as a thermal resistor). A
thermistor is highly sensitive to temperature
fluctuations.
Typical thermistors are made from ceramic
semiconductors or from platinum wires wrapped
around ceramic mandrels or spindles. Thermistors
usually have negative temperature coefficients (NTC),
meaning the resistance of the thermistor decreases as
the temperature increases. Depending upon on the
material and fabrication process, the typical operating
range for thermistors is -50 C to 150 C.
They are widely used as inrush current limiter,
temperature sensors (NTC type typically), self-resetting
overcurrent protectors and self-regulating heating
elements.

History
Michael Faraday; an English scientist, first discovered
the concept of thermistors in 1833 while reporting on
the semiconductor behavior of silver sulfide. Through
his research, he noticed that the silver sulfide’s
resistance decreased as the temperature increased.
This discovery later led to the commercial production
of thermistors in the 1930’s when Samuel Ruben
invented the first commercial thermistor. Since then,
technology has improved; along with availability of
higher quality material.

THEORY
A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance
strongly depends on temperature. The
word thermistor is a combination of words “thermal”
and “resistor”. A thermistor is a temperature-sensing
element composed of sintered semiconductor material
and sometimes mixture of metallic oxides such as Mn,
Ni, Co, Cu and Fe, which exhibits a large change in
resistance proportional to a small change in
temperature. Pure metals have positive temperature
coefficient of resistance, alloys have nearly equal zero
temperature coefficient of resistance and semi-
conductors have negative temperature coefficient of
resistance.

Thermistors can be classified into two types:

 Positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor:

resistance increase with increase in temperature.

 Negative temperature coefficient (NTC)

thermistor: resistance decrease with increase in

temperature.
 Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC)

In an NTC thermistor, when the temperature increases,

resistance decreases. And when temperature decreases,
resistance increases. Hence in an NTC thermistor
temperature and resistance are inversely proportional.
These are the most common type of thermistor. They
are primarily used as resistive temperature sensors and
current-limiting devices. The temperature sensitivity
coefficient is about five times greater than that of
silicon temperature sensors and about ten times greater
than that of resistance temperature detectors (RTDs).
NTC sensors are typically used in a range from −55 to
+200 °C.

Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC)

A PTC thermistor has the reverse relationship between

temperature and resistance. When temperature
increases, the resistance increases. And when
temperature decreases, resistance decreases. Hence in a
PTC thermistor temperature and resistance are inversely
proportional. Although PTC thermistors are not as
common as NTC thermistors, they are frequently used
as a form of circuit protection. Similar to the function of
fuses, PTC thermistors can act as current-limiting
device. When current passes through a device it will
cause a small amount of resistive heating. If the current
is large enough to generate more heat than the device
can lose to its surroundings then the device heats up.

WORKING

 AIM
 APPARATUS
 PROCUDURE
 OBSERVATION

CONCLUSION

ADVANTAGES
The following are the advantages of the thermistor.
1. The thermistor is compact, long durable and less
expensive.
2. The properly aged thermistor has good stability.
3. The response time of the thermistor changes
from seconds to minutes. Their response time
depends on the detecting mass and the thermal
capacity of the thermistor.
4. The upper thermistor limit of the temperature
depends on the physical variation of the
material, and the lower temperature depends on
the resistance reaching a large value.
 5. The self-heating of the thermistor is avoided by
minimising the current passes through it.
6. The thermistor is installed at the distance of the
measuring circuit. Thus, the reading is free from
the error caused by the resistance of the lead.

DISADVANTAGES
The following are the disadvantages of the thermistor.
1. It needs shielding in power lines.
2. It is extremely non-linear. They are especially non-
linear at high temperatures, so it is best to use them
for measurements of less than 100°C.
3. It is a passive device.
4. The nonlinear characteristics of thermistors often
create a problem for temperature measurement. It is
not suitable for a large temperature range.
5. It has a narrow operating temperature range
compared to RTD and thermocouples.
6. It is fragile.
7. It is susceptible to self-heating errors.
8. It is unstable due to drift and recalibration.
9. Self-heating errors from applied power.
10. It needs an excitation current, more commonly
known as a voltage source.

APPLICATIONS
1. Thermistors can be used in many applications such
as measurement and control of temperature
(thermometers, oil temperature in automobiles),
time delay, temperature compensation in electronic
equipment (rechargeable batteries), household
electronics (refrigerators, washing machines and
electric cookers), computer
2. Various household electronic devices (big and
small)- Refrigerators and freezer use temperature
sensors, but they can also be found in washing
machines and hair dryers.
3. Electronic equipment inside of cars- thermistors
perform vital roles in the overall function of
vehicles. Thermistors measure cooling water and
oil temperatures, as well as monitoring exhaust gas
temperature and keeping passengers comfortable in
the car (temperature control).
4. HVAC systems of all sorts- thermistors monitor
room temperature and control burner temperatures.
5. Electronics produced by the telecommunications
industry- out of all the devices thermistors are
found in, cellular phones are amongst the most
popular. Thermistors help to regulate the
temperature from inside a mobile device. This is
important with the accepted use of rechargeable
lithium-ion battery packs. Thermistors are also an
important part of the protective circuitry.
6. Industrial electronics- thermistors help to stabilize
the temperature of laser diodes, as well as for
 temperature compensation when working with
copper coils.

REFERENCES
Examples of Thermistor Applications (sensorsci.com)

What are the applications of Thermistors? - Circuit

Globe

Thermistor: Definition, Uses & How They Work |

Electrical4U

NTC Thermistor | Resistor Types | Resistor Guide

(eepower.com)

AYSHA XII-B 6