10-08-2016, 12:25 PM
Sensors and Transducers
Simple stand alone electronic circuits can be made to repeatedly flash a light or play a musical note, but in order for an electronic circuit or system to perform any useful task or function it needs to be able to communicate with the “real world” whether this is by reading an input signal from an “ON/OFF” switch or by activating some form of output device to illuminate a single light.
This is a really good question. In today's world, both these terms are used in various contexts interchangeably. When I started Transducer Engineering in my sophomore year, my professor used to use the term 'sensor' for a particular element in today's class and he would call the same a 'transducer' in tomorrow's class. They both are widely used for the purpose of measurement. Let me start by giving some definitions.
Sensor - As the term suggests, it is a body which reacts to a physical, chemical or biological condition. It senses. It can be considered as a detector.
Transducer - The conversion of energy from one form to another is known as Transduction. A transducer serves for this purpose.
Now why there is confusion is that,
A Sensor can sense in any form(usually electronic) i.e due to some mechanical change, it can react in electrical form. Thus there is a conversion, similar to that of a transducer.
A classic example would be a thermocouple. Or a pressure sensor which might detect pressure and convert it into electric current (3-15psi to 4-20ma)
A Transducer is more than a sensor. It consists of a sensor/actuator along with signal conditioning circuits.
A signal conditioning circuit, by the name is a circuit which conditions the signal so that it is strong enough for further processing. A system might contain many stages before the signal finally reaches its destination to derive meaningful information.
Simple stand alone electronic circuits can be made to repeatedly flash a light or play a musical note, but in order for an electronic circuit or system to perform any useful task or function it needs to be able to communicate with the “real world” whether this is by reading an input signal from an “ON/OFF” switch or by activating some form of output device to illuminate a single light.
This is a really good question. In today's world, both these terms are used in various contexts interchangeably. When I started Transducer Engineering in my sophomore year, my professor used to use the term 'sensor' for a particular element in today's class and he would call the same a 'transducer' in tomorrow's class. They both are widely used for the purpose of measurement. Let me start by giving some definitions.
Sensor - As the term suggests, it is a body which reacts to a physical, chemical or biological condition. It senses. It can be considered as a detector.
Transducer - The conversion of energy from one form to another is known as Transduction. A transducer serves for this purpose.
Now why there is confusion is that,
A Sensor can sense in any form(usually electronic) i.e due to some mechanical change, it can react in electrical form. Thus there is a conversion, similar to that of a transducer.
A classic example would be a thermocouple. Or a pressure sensor which might detect pressure and convert it into electric current (3-15psi to 4-20ma)
A Transducer is more than a sensor. It consists of a sensor/actuator along with signal conditioning circuits.
A signal conditioning circuit, by the name is a circuit which conditions the signal so that it is strong enough for further processing. A system might contain many stages before the signal finally reaches its destination to derive meaningful information.
