From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Potentiometers

Potentiometers

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Potentiometers

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- [Instructor] Potentiometers, which are often called pots for short, are electrical components that contain an adjustable voltage divider. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from rotating knobs to linear sliders, and are often used for tasks like adjusting the volume on a stereo. The schematic symbol for a potentiometer is a resistor with an arrow pointing into it from the side. The three terminals of this symbol correspond to the three inputs and outputs of a voltage divider. As a potentiometer knob is rotated or the slider is moved, it changes the ratio of that voltage divider. For example, the slider shown here is a 20-kiloohm potentiometer. When the slider is moved to one end, all of the resistance is shifted to that side of the voltage divider, and the other side has approximately zero resistance, and as the slider is moved to the other extreme, the voltage divider shifts until all of the resistance is on…

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