1

Measuring Devices
1. Wheatstone bridge
(Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatstone_bridge)

A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component. Its operation is similar to the original potentiometer. It was invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and improved and popularized by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1843. 1.1 Operation In the figure, Rx is the unknown resistance to be measured; R1, R2 and R3 are resistors of known resistance and the resistance of R2 is adjustable. If the ratio of the two resistances in the known leg (R2 / R1) is equal to the ratio of the two in the unknown leg (Rx / R3), then the voltage between the two midpoints (B and D) will be zero and no current will flow through the galvanometer Vg. If the bridge is unbalanced, the direction of the current indicates whether R2 is too high or too low. R2 is varied until there is no current through the galvanometer, which then reads zero. Detecting zero current with a galvanometer can be done to extremely high accuracy. Therefore, if R1, R2 and R3 are known to high precision, then Rx can be measured to high precision. Very small changes in Rx disrupt the balance and are readily detected. At the point of balance,

Rx R2 = R3 R1
so that

(1)

Rx =

R2 R3 R1

(2)

Alternatively, if R1, R2, and R3 are known, but R2 is not adjustable, the voltage difference across or current flow through the meter can be used to calculate the value of Rx, using Kirchhoff's circuit laws. This setup is frequently used in strain gauge and resistance thermometer measurements, as it is usually faster to read a voltage level off a meter than to adjust a resistance to zero the voltage.

1.2 Derivation First, Kirchhoff's current law is applied to nodes B and D:

I 3 I x + IG = 0 I1 I 2 I G = 0

, .

(3) (4)

Then, Kirchhoff's voltage law is applied to the loops ABD and BCD:

I 3 R3 I G RG I1 R1 = 0 I x Rx I 2 R2 + IG RG = 0

, ,

(5) (6)

The bridge is balanced when IG = 0, so equations (3) to (6) become:

I3 = I x I1 = I 2

, .

(3)* (4)*

Then, Kirchhoff's voltage law is applied to the loops ABD and BCD:

I 3 R3 = I1 R1 I x Rx = I 2 R2

, ,

(5)* (6)*

Then, dividing equation (6)* by equation (5)* and using equations (3)* and (4)* yields:

Rx R2 = R3 R1

giving the desired value of Rx as:

Rx =

R2 R3 R1

3 1.3 Worked Example

Question In a particular measurement experiment with a Wheatstone bridge, Rx represents the resistance of a light bulb and the following values are obtained for the balanced bridge: R1 = 256 , R2 = 64 , R3 = 16 .

Calculate the resistance Rx . Solution Rx = R2 64 16 R3 = = 4 R1 256 .

2. Oscilloscope
(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope)

2.1 Display and general external appearance The basic oscilloscope, as shown in the illustration, is typically divided into four sections: the display, vertical controls, horizontal controls and trigger controls. The display is usually a CRT or LCD panel which is laid out with both horizontal and vertical reference lines referred to as the graticule. In addition to the screen, most display sections are equipped with three basic controls, a focus knob, an intensity knob and a beam finder button. The vertical section controls the amplitude of the displayed signal. This section carries a Volts-perDivision (Volts/Div) selector knob, an AC/DC/Ground selector switch and the vertical (primary) input for the instrument. Additionally, this section is typically equipped with the vertical beam position knob. The horizontal section controls the time base or sweep of the instrument. The primary control is the Seconds-per-Division (Sec/Div) selector switch. Also included is a horizontal input for plotting dual X-Y axis signals. The horizontal beam position knob is generally located in this section.

4 The trigger section controls the start event of the sweep. The trigger can be set to automatically restart after each sweep or it can be configured to respond to an internal or external event. The principal controls of this section will be the source and coupling selector switches. An external trigger input (EXT Input) and level adjustment will also be included. In addition to the basic instrument, most oscilloscopes are supplied with a probe as shown. The probe will connect to any input on the instrument and typically has a resistor of ten times the oscilloscope's input impedance. This results in a .1 (-10X) attenuation factor, but helps to isolate the capacitive load presented by the probe cable from the signal being measured. Some probes have a switch allowing the operator to bypass the resistor when appropriate. 2.2 Worked Example

Question An alternating current (ac) source is connected to a resistor to form a complete circuit. The trace obtained on an oscilloscope connected across the resistor is shown in the figure below.

The oscilloscope settings are: Y gain 10.0V per division time base 5.0 ms per division. Calculate: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) the peak voltage of the ac source; the rms voltage; the time period of the ac signal; the frequency of the ac signal, in Hz; the circular frequency of the ac signal, in rad/s.

Solution (i) The peak voltage of the ac source is Vmax = ( 10 V / div ) ( 4 div ) = 40 V (ii) The rms voltage is Vrms = 0.707Vmax = 0.707 40 = 28.28V (iii) The time period of the ac signal is T = ( 5 ms / div ) ( 3 div ) = 15 ms

(iv)

the frequency of the ac signal is f = 1/ T = 1 = 66.67 Hz 0.015 s

(v)

The circular frequency of the ac signal is

= 2 f = ( 2 ) ( 66.67 ) = 418.88 rad / s