sensors

A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends the information to other electronics, frequently a computer processor.
Sensors are used in everyday objects such as touch-sensitive elevator buttons (tactile sensor) and lamps which dim or brighten by touching the base, and in innumerable applications of which most people are never aware. With advances in micromachinery and easy-to-use microcontroller platforms, the uses of sensors have expanded beyond the traditional fields of temperature, pressure and flow measurement, for example into MARG sensors.
Analog sensors such as potentiometers and force-sensing resistors are still widely used. Their applications include manufacturing and machinery, airplanes and aerospace, cars, medicine, robotics and many other aspects of our day-to-day life. There is a wide range of other sensors that measure chemical and physical properties of materials, including optical sensors for refractive index measurement, vibrational sensors for fluid viscosity measurement, and electro-chemical sensors for monitoring pH of fluids.
A sensor's sensitivity indicates how much its output changes when the input quantity it measures changes. For instance, if the mercury in a thermometer moves 1 cm when the temperature changes by 1 °C, its sensitivity is 1 cm/°C (it is basically the slope dy/dx assuming a linear characteristic). Some sensors can also affect what they measure; for instance, a room temperature thermometer inserted into a hot cup of liquid cools the liquid while the liquid heats the thermometer. Sensors are usually designed to have a small effect on what is measured; making the sensor smaller often improves this and may introduce other advantages.Technological progress allows more and more sensors to be manufactured on a microscopic scale as microsensors using MEMS technology. In most cases, a microsensor reaches a significantly faster measurement time and higher sensitivity compared with macroscopic approaches. Due to the increasing demand for rapid, affordable and reliable information in today's world, disposable sensors—low-cost and easy‐to‐use devices for short‐term monitoring or single‐shot measurements—have recently gained growing importance. Using this class of sensors, critical analytical information can be obtained by anyone, anywhere and at any time, without the need for recalibration and worrying about contamination.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  • 1

    CanyonReveller

    Established Member From UK
    • Messages
      83
    • Reaction score
      27
    • Points
      18
  • 1

    hharzel

    Established Member From jkl/finland
    • Messages
      86
    • Reaction score
      52
    • Points
      28
  • 1

    Scaeva

    Novice Member From Perth, Australia
    • Messages
      9
    • Reaction score
      2
    • Points
      2
  • 1

    GameZone

    Established Member From Norway
    • Messages
      510
    • Reaction score
      351
    • Points
      173
  • 1

    mg4nick

    Standard Member From Salisbury
    • Messages
      38
    • Reaction score
      54
    • Points
      15
  • 1

    maskull

    Established Member From Rhondda Cynon Taff
    • Messages
      574
    • Reaction score
      651
    • Points
      209
  • 1

    Minniemouse1965

    Novice Member From surrey
    • Messages
      9
    • Reaction score
      1
    • Points
      2
  • 1

    apndavies

    Standard Member From london
    • Messages
      14
    • Reaction score
      17
    • Points
      11
  • 1

    Wadda

    Established Member From South Yorkshire
    • Messages
      86
    • Reaction score
      65
    • Points
      23
  • 1

    Aidanw

    Standard Member From NZ
    • Messages
      14
    • Reaction score
      4
    • Points
      7
  • 1

    geekas

    Standard Member From Dromana, Victoria, Australia
    • Messages
      7
    • Reaction score
      12
    • Points
      6
  • 1

    MarekD

    Novice Member From Piotrków tryb.
    • Messages
      17
    • Reaction score
      2
    • Points
      8
  • 1

    fshuk1

    Established Member From Kingston
    • Messages
      322
    • Reaction score
      358
    • Points
      153
  • 1

    DaveS

    Standard Member From Coulsdon
    • Messages
      15
    • Reaction score
      5
    • Points
      4
  • 1

    • Messages
      53
    • Reaction score
      11
    • Points
      19
  • Back
    Top Bottom