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The Wheatstone Bridge: Sadars Stevenage and District Amateur Radio Society
The Wheatstone Bridge: Sadars Stevenage and District Amateur Radio Society
The Wheatstone Bridge: Sadars Stevenage and District Amateur Radio Society
How can we change its arrangement so that it can indicate a voltage level,
rather than a current level?
How can we change its arrangement such that it can be used to measure
other electrical quantities such as resistance?
Vx = V+ x R2
(R1 + R2)
V+ = 10V
`R1` = R1 + R2 + R3 = 3kW
Vx = V+ x R2
(R1 + R2)
Vy = V+ x R4
(R3 + R4)
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
V+ x R2 = V+ x R4
(R1 + R2) (R3 + R4)
R2 = R4 _
(R1 + R2) (R3 + R4)
R2 = R4 .
(R1 + R2) (R3 + R4)
and remembering that whatever is done to one side of the equation has to be
done to the other side of that equation
Thus, R2 x R3 = R4 x R1
Early Wheatstone
bridge designs had
slider contacts on
resistive conductors so
the ratio (of R1 and R2)
could be determined by
using a ruler.
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
Another arrangement to
sliders on a bar was to
calibrate the resistive
wire along its length
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
R4 = R2/R1 x R3
If R1 = R2, then R4 = R3
So far, we have been energising the bridge from dc supply, which is how
the early engineers used this instrument, but will it work with an ac supply?
The answer to this question relates to the other passive components that
we use, capacitors and inductors, since these components respond to ac,
rather than dc, signals.
There were meter movements available like the moving iron type which do
respond to ac, but these tend to be insensitive devices.
The resistor limits the meter current and the silicon diodes conduct when the
voltage applied to the inputs exceeds about 0.7V in either polarity.
When the bridge is in balance the voltage across the inputs is zero, so the
diodes have no effect. The resistor reduces the meter’s sensitivity and so
could be shorted out near balance to improve circuit sensitivity. Commercial
Wheatstone bridges sometimes included such a switch.
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
Bridge sensitivity, and thus the accuracy of the balance obtained, would be
improved by either increasing the input signal to the bridge (which has the
adverse effect of increasing dissipation in the bridge components) or by
adding an ac amplifier between the bridge output and the meter circuit.
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
The potentiometer is used for one complete arm of the bridge (rather
than just one element of the bridge) and is calibrated accordingly. See
the capacitor measurement box being passed around.
SADARS Stevenage And District Amateur Radio Society
Now is the time for you to come up to the demonstration unit and
to make some measurements yourselves.