Transducer
A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another, or responds to a physical parameter. A transducer is in its fundamental form a passive component. If the component is electrical then it generally has two electrical terminals.
See also electronics, gear, sensor
List of transducers
- Electrochemical:
- Electromechanical:
- actuator
- circuit breaker
- dynamo
- Electroactive polymers
- galvanometer
- MEMS
- motor, linear motor
- piezoelectric
- quartz
- relay
- servomechanism
- strain gauge used in weight/force measuring.
- switch
- Electroacoustic:
- gramophone pick-up
- hydrophone - converts changes in water pressure into an electrical form
- loudspeaker, earphone - converts changes in electrical signals into acoustic form
- microphone - converts changes in air pressure into an electrical signal
- piezoelectric crystal - converts pressure changes into electrical form
- Photoelectric:
- Laser diode, light-emitting diode - convert electrical power into forms of light
- photodiode, phototransistor - converts changing light levels into electrical form
- solar cell - converts light energy into electrical energy
- Electromagnetic:
- antenna (electronics) - converts airborne RF signals into electrical form
- cathode ray tube (CRT) - converts electrical signals into visual form
- fluorescent lamp, light bulb - converts electrical power into visible light
- magnetic cartridge - converts motion into electrical form
- photocell or light-dependent resistor (LDR) - converts changes in light levels into resistance changes
- reed switch - converts a strong magnetic field into a switch activation
- tape head - converts changing magnetic fields into electrical form
- Magnetic:
- Hall effect sensor - converts a magnetic field level into electrical form
- Electrostatic:
- Thermoelectric:
- thermocouple
- Peltier cooler
- thermistor (includes PTC resistor and NTC resistor)
- Other:
- Geiger-Müller tube used for measuring radioactivity.
- Electronic. These components change one electrical parameter in response to another. By some definitions these are electronic components, not transducers.
- diode
- gyrator
- varicap diode, varactor diode, tuning diode
- negative impedance converter, NIC
- Schottky diode
- transistor, Field effect transistor (FET)
- Transorb
- tunneling diode
- varistor
- voltage-dependent resistor
- Zener diode
- Electrical. These components change one electrical parameter in response to another. By some definitions these are passive electronic components, not transducers.
- Mechanical.
Sources/references
External links
- whatis: transducer
- Federal Standard 1037C, August 7, 1996: transducer
- American National Standard for Telecommunications - Telecom Glossary 2000: transducer