Ammeter 1

Ammeter
An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to
measure the electric current in a circuit. Electric
currents are measured in amperes (A), hence the name.
Smaller values of current can be measured using a
milliameter or a microammeter. Early ammeters were
laboratory instruments only which relied on the Earth's
magnetic field for operation. By the late 19th century,
improved instruments were designed which could be
mounted in any position and allowed accurate
measurements in electric power systems,

History
Demonstration model of a moving iron ammeter.
The relation between electric currents, magnetic fields As the current through the coil increases, the
and physical forces was first noted by Hans Christian plunger is drawn further into the coil and the
pointer deflects to the right.
Ørsted who in 1820 observed a compass needle was
deflected from pointing North when a current flowed in
an adjacent wire. The tangent galvanometer was used to
measure currents using this effect, where the restoring
force returning the pointer to the zero position was
provided by the Earth's magnetic field. This made these
instruments usable only when aligned with the Earth's
field. Sensitivity of the instrument was increased by
using additional turns of wire to multiply the effect -
the instruments were called "multipliers". [1]

Types
The D'Arsonval galvanometer is a moving coil
ammeter. It uses magnetic deflection, where current
passing through a coil causes the coil to move in a
magnetic field. The voltage drop across the coil is kept
to a minimum to minimize resistance across the
ammeter in any circuit into which it is inserted. The
modern form of this instrument was developed by
Edward Weston, and uses two spiral springs to provide
the restoring force. By maintaining a uniform air gap
between the iron core of the instrument and the poles of
its permanent magnet, the instrument has good linearity
Wire carrying current to be measured.
and accuracy. Basic meter movements can have
Spring providing restoring force
full-scale deflection for currents from about 25
microamperes to 10 millamperes and have linear scales.
[2]
.
Ammeter 2

Moving iron ammeters use a piece of iron which moves when

acted upon by the electromagnetic force of a fixed coil of wire.
This type of meter responds to both direct and alternating currents
(as opposed to the moving coil ammeter, which works on direct
current only). The iron element consists of a moving vane attached
to a pointer, and a fixed vane, surrounded by a coil. As alternating
or direct current flows through the coil and induces a magnetic
field in both vanes. The vanes repel each other and the moving
vane deflects against the restoring force provided by fine helical
springs. [2] The non-linear scale of these meters makes them
unpopular.

An electrodynamic movement uses an electromagnet instead of

the permanent magnet of the d'Arsonval movement. This
instrument can respond to both alternating and direct current. [2]
Ammeter from the old Penn Station Terminal
In a hot-wire ammeter, a current passes through a wire which Service Plant at 250 West Thirty-first Street
expands as it heats. Although these instruments have slow
response time and low accuracy, they were sometimes used in
measuring radio-frequency current. [2]
Digital ammeter designs use an analog to digital converter (ADC)
to measure the voltage across the shunt resistor; the digital display
is calibrated to read the current through the shunt.
There is also a whole range of devices referred to as integrating
ammeters.[3] [4] In these ammeters the amount of current is
summed over time giving as a result the product of current and
time, which is proportional to the energy transferred with that
current. These can be used for energy meters (watt-hour meters) or
for estimating the charge of battery or capacitor. Zero-center ammeter

Application
To measure larger currents, a resistor called a shunt is placed in parallel with the meter. Most of the current flows
through the shunt, and only a small fraction flows through the meter. This allows the meter to measure large
currents. Traditionally, the meter used with a shunt has a full-scale deflection (FSD) of 50 mV, so shunts are
typically designed to produce a voltage drop of 50 mV when carrying their full rated current.
Zero-center ammeters are used for applications requiring current to be measured with both polarities, common in
scientific and industrial equipment. Zero-center ammeters are also commonly placed in series with a battery. In this
application, the charging of the battery deflects the needle to one side of the scale (commonly, the right side) and the
discharging of the battery deflects the needle to the other side.
Since the ammeter shunt has a very low resistance, mistakenly wiring the ammeter in parallel with a voltage source
will cause a short circuit, at best blowing a fuse, possibly damaging the instrument and wiring, and exposing an
observer to injury.
In AC circuits, a current transformer converts the magnetic field around a conductor into a small AC current,
typically either 1 or 5 Amps at full rated current, that can be easily read by a meter. In a similar way, accurate
AC/DC non-contact ammeters have been constructed using Hall effect magnetic field sensors. A portable hand-held
Ammeter 3

clamp-on ammeter is a common tool for maintenance of industrial and commercial electrical equipment, which is
temporarily clipped over a wire to measure current.

See also
• Clamp meter
• Electric circuit
• Electrical measurements
• Electronics
• List of electronics topics
• Multimeter
• Ohmmeter
• The Energy Detective
• Voltmeter

References
[1] L. A. Geddes, Looking back: how measuring electric current has improved through the ages, IEEE Potentials, Feb/Mar 1996, pages 40-42
[2] Frank Spitzer and Barry Howarth, Principles of Modern Instrumentation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1972, ISBN 0-03-080208-3
chapter 11
[3] http:/ / www-project. slac. stanford. edu/ lc/ local/ notes/ dr/ Wiggler/ Wigrad_BK. pdf
[4] http:/ / dit. upc. es/ lpdntt/ biblio/ BREUS/ LEE97a. pdf