potentiometer
a device for measuring electromotive force or potential difference by comparison with a known voltage.
Origin of potentiometer
1Other words from potentiometer
- po·ten·ti·o·met·ric [puh-ten-shee-uh-me-trik], /pəˌtɛn ʃi əˈmɛ trɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby potentiometer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use potentiometer in a sentence
Meanwhile the gravity potentiometer (gravy board) was changing its reading constantly and erratically.
Unthinkable | Roger Phillips GrahamThe potentiometer must never be shunted around the B battery or the latter will soon run down.
The Radio Amateur's Hand Book | A. Frederick CollinsIn using either of these heterodyne receivers be sure to carefully adjust the B battery by means of the potentiometer.
The Radio Amateur's Hand Book | A. Frederick CollinsDon't connect a potentiometer across the B battery or it will speedily run down.
The Radio Amateur's Hand Book | A. Frederick CollinsDon't expect to get the best results with a gas-content detector tube without using a potentiometer.
The Radio Amateur's Hand Book | A. Frederick Collins
British Dictionary definitions for potentiometer
/ (pəˌtɛnʃɪˈɒmɪtə) /
an instrument for determining a potential difference or electromotive force by measuring the fraction of it that balances a standard electromotive force
a device with three terminals, two of which are connected to a resistance wire and the third to a brush moving along the wire, so that a variable potential can be tapped off: used in electronic circuits, esp as a volume control
- Sometimes shortened to: pot
Derived forms of potentiometer
- potentiometry, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for potentiometer
[ pə-tĕn′shē-ŏm′ĭ-tər ]
A mechanical variable resistor. See more at resistor.
An instrument for measuring an unknown voltage by comparison with a known voltage, such as that of a generator.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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