From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Wheatstone Bridge

Wheatstone Bridge

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Wheatstone Bridge

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- [Instructor] The Wheatstone bridge is a common circuit configuration that can be used to measure the value of an unknown resistor by comparing it to known resistors. And it can be used to detect very small changes in the resistance of a component. Wheatstone bridges are frequently used to measure resistive sensors, like strain gauges and thermistors because they can detect the small change in a sensor's resistance. The Wheatstone bridge consists of four resistors arranged as two parallel sets of resistors in series. By controlling the input voltage and the value of three resistors, then measuring the output voltage between these two middle nodes, it's possible to calculate the value of the fourth unknown resistance, represented here as Rx. By carefully tuning the other three resistors in the circuit, the Wheatstone bridge can provide extremely accurate resistance measurements. The schematic for a Wheatstone…

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