Electrical and Electronic Measuring Instruments

Saswat Nayak
Roll No – 1707395
Semester – IV
Branch/Section – EEE (05)

2018-19

Electrical and Electronics Measurement (EI2005)

B.Tech Programme (2017-21) in Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE)

School of Electronics Engineering, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

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 OUTLINE
1. Electrometer 9. Polarity indicator 17. Thermocouple Gauge
2. Psophometer 10. Flux meter 18. Ammeter
3. Vectorscope 11. Microwave power meter 19. Voltmeter
4. VU meter 12. Phase meter 20. Magnetic flow meter
5. Clamp meter 13. Distortion meter 21. Varmeter
6. Energy meter 14. Power Factor Meter 22. Permeameter
7. ESR meter 15. Synchroscope 23. Coulometer
8. Static meter 16. Magnetometer 24. Barometer

25. Piezoelectric accelerometer

2
1. Electrometer
• Origin • Working Principle
Electrometers have been used and developed since 17th century in
various scientific demonstrations for indicating and measuring Modern electrometers based on vacuum tube or solid-state
electric charge. As the historical electrometer instruments got technology can be used to make voltage and charge measurements
developed into modern electrometers, they underwent changes in with very low leakage currents, down to 1 femtoampere.
the materials used in their construction which in a way influenced
their properties as well as the purpose they served.

INSTRUMENT MATERIAL USED FEATURES

Gold-leaf two thin leaves of gold This type of electroscope usually
electroscope foil suspended from acts as an indicator and not a
an electrode measuring device
Coulomb's Torsion is used to give a An index and scale is attached to
electrometer measurement more the top of the twistable glass
sensitive than repulsion rod. The number of degrees LORD KELVIN’S
GOLD-LEAF COULOMB’S
of gold leaves or cork- twisted to bring the balls back QUADRANT
ELECTROSCOPE ELECTROMETER
balls. together is in exact proportion ELECTROMETER
of the amount of charge of the SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
ball of the carrier rod. • Suggested Improvements
Peltier electrometer uses a form of magnetic measure deflection by balancing The modern electroscope can be improved if the following limitations are
compass the electrostatic force with a taken care of :
magnetic needle
 An electroscope cannot tell us about the nature of charge it has
Kelvin's quadrant uses a light aluminum The charged aluminum sector is detected,
electrometer sector suspended inside attracted to one pair of
a drum cut into four segments and repelled from the  cannot be directly used to measure the amount of charge on a body
segments other. The deflection is observed and
by a beam of light reflected from  cannot detect if the charge on the charged body is very small.
a small mirror attached to the 3
sector.
2. Psophometer
• Origin
• Working Principle
It’s earliest use has been found in Journal of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers, dating back in 1930s. The need of such an instrument has
existed for many years and prior to the adoption of this objective The core of the meter is based on a true RMS voltmeter, which
method several subjective means had been applied. The two which measures the level of the noise signal.
were most widely used are described briefly below :

ORIGIN DESIGN OF PSOPHOMETER

COUNTRY
AMERICA In the arrangement followed in America earlier, the
communication circuit was terminated by a network which had
an input impedance approximately equal to the characteristic
impedance of the line. A telephone receiver formed part of the
network. The noise current at the end of the line was
compared with the current from a special type of buzzer. The
output of the buzzer was applied to the line terminals of a Psophometer
cross-talk meter, and the telephone receiver was connected
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
alternately to the line and meter. The meter setting was varied
until the volume of sound heard in the two positions was • Suggested Improvements
considered to be the same.
 A revision of the method of addition of the components in a complex
GERMANY The German method the line noise was compared with the disturbance, and even a modification—possibly a simplification—of
output from an 800-cycle oscillator (see Fig. 2). At this
frequency the impedance of the receiver was equal to the the weighting curve, may be necessary.
characteristic impedance of standard cable. Early methods of
noise measurement employed in this country were similar in  Lastly, there is a psychological effect which cannot be assessed by an
principle to the above. For example, the characteristic " fry" of instrument. If an operator or a subscriber knows that noise exists on
carbon granule transmitters was measured by aural
comparison with the complex tone produced by an " artificial a particular circuit, the irritation experienced—and this may be
frying machine "—a light wire carrying current and passing unconscious-will tend to reduce the efficiency of transmission over
over a rough surface. the circuit. 4
3. Vectorscope
• Origin
Vectorscope was invented to examine colour TV signals by John L
Judge on 17 October 1989. It is a special type of oscilloscope used in
both audio and video applications.

• Working Principle

Whereas an oscilloscope or waveform monitor normally displays a

plot of signal vs. time, a vectorscope displays an X-Y plot of two
signals, which can reveal details about the relationship between
these two signals.

• Suggested Improvements

 Instead of a simple point, draw the four-squares little grid of strict

confidence
 Draw also the four corners of large confidence around each point
 Think about adding the option to draw a bigger vectorscope, that
occupy all the display space, in order to see it more precisely
 Think about adding the option to use a user-defined level of
transparency for this tool
 Add the option for the marks to be valid for PAL or NTSC (user-
defined switchable)
Vectorscope
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
5
 4. VU meter
• Origin • Suggested Improvements
 The original design was proposed in the 1940 IRE paper, A New
Standard Volume Indicator and Reference Level, written by The VU Meter can be improved if the following limitations are taken care of :
experts from CBS, NBC, and Bell Telephone Laboratories.
 Maintenance Required
 The Acoustical Society of America then standardized it in 1942
This type of device requires some maintenance every 6 months. To address
(ANSI C16.5-1942) for use in telephone installation and radio
broadcast stations. the concern you will need to purchase a lubricating fluid that is appropriate
for the device. You have to take time when doing maintenance on VU
 The VU-meter was originally developed in 1939 by the combined meters.
effort of Bell Labs and broadcasters CBS and NBC.
 In the 1970s–80s, neon-filled, planar dual display dekatrons with  Rarity of Replacement Parts
up to 201 segments per stereo channel were popular among In the event that the analog VU meter is broken, you may have difficulty
broadcasters as fast bar graph VU meters. searching for the replacement of some parts. This is especially so if you have
an original vintage design that is branded, which at times may require for
• Working Principle original parts replacements.
The original VU meter is a passive electromechanical device,
namely a 200 µA DC d'Arsonval movement ammeter fed from a full-
wave copper-oxide rectifier mounted within the meter case.
The mass of the needle causes a relatively slow response, which
in effect integrates the signal, with a rise time of 300 ms. 0 VU is
equal to +4 dBu, or 1.228 volts RMS, a power of about 2.5
milliwatts when applied across a 600-ohm load.
The meter was designed not to measure the signal, but to let
users aim the signal level to a target level of 0 VU, so it is not VU Meter
important that the device is non-linear and imprecise for low levels. SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
In effect, the scale ranges from −20 VU to +3 VU, with −3 VU right in 6
the middle.
5. Clamp meter
• Suggested Improvements
• Origin
Among Amprobe Instrument Corporation first products was the The Clamp Meter can be improved if the following limitations are taken care of
Inductive clamp meter, originally designed as a single-purpose tool
for measuring AC current. The company received its first patent in  The LCD display depends on a battery or external power source.
September 1950 for the same.  In case of fluctuations or transients, it can record an error.
 Warming of the meter during its use can change its properties leading to
• Working Principle errors in measured value.
 The A/D converter has a limitation on word length which can cause
Beneath their plastic moldings, hard jaws consist of ferrite iron and quantization noise giving rise to error in measured value.
are engineered to detect, concentrate and measure the magnetic  There is a voltage limitation. If it is increased beyond the limit, the meter
field being generated by current as it flows through a conductor. will be damaged.
 The digital nature makes it unsuitable for adjusting tuning circuits or
The Electro-magnetic principle says that “whenever a current peaking tunable responses.
flows through a conducting material, it causes the generation of  They are expensive due to high manufacturing cost.
magnetic-flux”.

Clamp meter
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

7
6. Energy meter
• Origin • Working Principle

Thomas Edison at first worked on a direct current (DC)
electromechanical meter with a direct reading register, but instead
developed an electrochemical metering system, which used an
electrolytic cell to totalize current consumption. At periodic intervals
the plates were removed and weighed, and the customer billed. The
electrochemical meter was labor-intensive to read and not well
received by customers.
• Suggested Improvements
The Energy Meter can be improved if the following limitations are
taken care of
The driving system has two electromagnets. The upper one is called
the shunt electromagnet, and the lower one is called series
electromagnet. The series electromagnet is excited by the load
current flow through the current coil. The coil of the shunt
electromagnet is directly connected with the supply and hence
carry the current proportional to the shunt voltage. This coil is
called the pressure coil. The center limb of the magnet has the
copper band. These bands are adjustable. The main function of the
copper band is to align the flux produced by the shunt magnet in
such a way that it is exactly perpendicular to the supplied voltage.

 (i) Instrumental Errors

These errors may be due to wrong construction, calibration of the measuring
instruments. These types of error may be arises due to friction or may be due to
hysteresis. These types of errors also include the loading effect and misuse of the
instruments. Misuse of the instruments results in the failure to the adjust the zero of
instruments. In order to minimize the gross errors in measurement various correction
factors must be applied and in extreme condition instrument must be re-calibrated
carefully.
 (ii) Environmental Errors
This type of error arises due to conditions external to instrument. External condition
includes temperature, pressure, humidity or it may include external magnetic field.
 (iii)Observational Errors Energy meter
As the name indicates that these errors are due to observation . The main reason for SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA 8
the observation are parallax and inaccurate reading measurement.
7. ESR Meter
• Origin • Suggested Improvements

The first major device to measure in-circuit ESR was based on Carl W. The ESR Meter can be improved if the following limitations are
Vette's "US Patent #4216424: Method and apparatus for testing
taken care of
electrolytic capacitors“, under the Creative Electronics brand. The
Creative Electronics ESR meter was the primary device many used  An ESR meter does not measure the capacitance of a capacitor
for the duration of the patent. The patent expired in 1998, when  A faulty short-circuited capacitor will incorrectly be identified by an
many other companies entered the market. ESR meter as having ideally low ESR
 ESR may depend upon operating ; a capacitor which has excessive ESR
Additional patents extended the original work, including John G. at operating temperature and voltage may test as good if measured
Bachman's 2001 "US Patent #6677764: System for protecting
electronic test equipment from charged capacitors" cold and unpowered
 An ESR meter can be damaged by connection to a capacitor with
significant voltage across it, either because of residual stored charge
• Working Principle or in a live circuit
 When an ESR meter is used as a milli ohmmeter, any significant
Most ESR meters work by discharging a real electrolytic capacitor inductance present between the test probes will make measurements
and passing an electric current through it for a short time, too short meaningless.
for it to charge appreciably. This will produce a voltage across the
device equal to the product of the current and the ESR plus a
negligible contribution from a small charge in the capacitor; this
voltage is measured and its value divided by the current (shown in
ohms or milliohms on a digital display or by the position of a
pointer on a scale. The process is repeated tens or hundreds of
thousands of times a second.

ESR Meter
SOURCE : AMAZON 9
8. Static Meter
• Origin
A static meter includes a field head which develops an electrical
charge representative of the strength of an electrostatic field at the
location of the field head. It was invented by Carlton M. Slough in
1983, Texas.
• Working Principle
The electrical charge is converted to an AC signal which is then
provided to metering apparatus. The metering apparatus provides
an indication of the strength of the electrostatic field in accordance
with the AC signal.
Static Meter
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
• Suggested Improvements
The Static Meter can be improved if the following limitations are taken
care of
 The LCD display depends on a battery or external power source.
 In case of fluctuations or transients, it can record an error.
 Warming of the meter during its use can change its properties leading
to errors in measured value.
 The A/D converter has a limitation on word length which can cause
quantization noise giving rise to error in measured value.
 There is a voltage limitation. If it is increased beyond the limit, the
meter will be damaged.
 The digital nature makes it unsuitable for adjusting tuning circuits or
peaking tunable responses.
 They are expensive due to high manufacturing cost.
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9. Polarity Indicator

• Origin
Polarity Indicator was invented to indicate direction of current and
polarity of voltage by Kaisling William in 1916. It related in general to
a device for visualizing the direction of the current flowing in a
circuit and is particularly adapted for use in connection with the
ignition and lighting circuits of an automobiles or the like.

• Working Principle

The opamp 741 is the core of the polarity indicator circuit. Its non-
inverting input is used to test the points for polarity. It has a gain of
around 150 which enables it to test low voltage levels. The test
result is displayed through the two LED’s D1 and D2. D1 lights up by
positive polarity and D2 lights up by negative polarity.

Polarity Indicator
SOURCE : Electroschematics
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10. Flux meter
• Origin • Suggested Improvements
The flux meter is the advanced form of the ballistic galvanometer
which has certain advantages like the meter has low controlling The Flux Meter can be improved if the following limitations are taken
torque and heavy electromagnetic damping and is used for care of
measuring the flux of the permanent magnet.

 The only disadvantage of the flux meter is that it is less

sensitive and accurate
• Working Principle

The flux linking with the coil is varied by either removing it from the
magnetic field or by reversing the field of the magnet. The change
of the flux induces the electromotive force in the coil. This emf
induces the current in the search coil and send it through the flux
meter. Because of the current, the pointer of the flux meter
deflects, and their deflection is directly proportional to the change
in the value of flux linkages.
As, the variation of the flux linkages reduces, coil stop moving
because of their high electromagnetic damping. The high
electromagnetic damping is because of the low resistance circuit
between the flux meter and the search coil.

Flux meter
SOURCE : Circuit Globe
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11. Microwave Power Meter
• Origin • Working Principle

When Sigurd and Russell Varian, the inventors of the klystron Usually a microwave power meter will consist of a measuring head
microwave power tube in the late 1930s, were in the early which contains the actual power sensing element, connected via a
experimental stages of their klystron cavity, the detection diodes of
cable to the meter proper, which displays the power reading. The
the day were not adequate for those microwave frequencies. The
story is told that Russell cleverly drilled a small hole at the head may be referred to as a power sensor or mount. Different
appropriate position in the klystron cavity wall, and positioned a power sensors can be used for different frequencies or power
fluorescent screen alongside. This technique was adequate to reveal levels. Several modern power sensor heads contain electronics to
whether the cavity was in oscillation and to give a gross indication of create a digital output and can be plugged via USB into a PC which
power level changes as various drive conditions were adjusted. acts as the power meter.
Early measurements of high power system signals were • Suggested Improvements
accomplished by arranging to absorb the bulk of the system power
into some sort of termination and measuring the heat buildup versus
 The use of directional couplers to extend the range of low-level
time.
power meters is a well established technique.
Historically the means of operation in most power sensor and meter  A cascade method would allow calibration of low power meter
combinations was that the sensor would convert the microwave coupler combinations for measurement up to megawatt range.
power into an analogue voltage which would be read by the meter
and converted into a power reading.

Microwave Power Meter

SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

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12. Phase meter
• Origin • Suggested Improvements
The earliest meter was Samual Gardiner’s (USA) lamphour meter The Phase Meter can be improved if the following limitations are taken
patented in 1872. It measured the time during which energy was care of
supplied to the load, as all the lamps connected to this meter were
controlled by one switch. Subdividing lighting circuits became
practical with the introduction of Edison’s light bulb, and this meter
became obsolete.
 Incorrect magnitudes of fluxes.
Thomas Alva Edison’s 'electric meter' patented in 1881 (USA patent  Incorrect phase angles.
No. 251,545) used the electrochemical effect of current. Edison later
added a counting mechanism to aid meter reading.  Change in strength of brake magnet
There were other electrolytic meters, like the German Siemens-  Change in disc resistance
Shuckert hydrogen meter and the Schott&Gen. Jena mercury meter.  Abnormal friction of moving parts

• Working Principle

Phase sequence meter is used for detecting the sequence of the

supply in three-phase electric circuits. Since the direction of
rotation of three phase electric motors can be changed by changing
the phase sequence of supply.
The torque of both the elements is added mechanically, and the
total rotation of the shaft is proportional to the three phase energy
consumption.
Phase Meter
SOURCE ALIBABA
14
13. Distortion Meter
• Origin • Suggested Improvements

One of the earliest reliable sources used for audio test was the first  A weakness of this method of measuring distortion is that extraneous
product made by Hewlett-Packard in 1939, the HP200A audio
oscillator. The clever and inexpensive design of the HP200A allowed
testers to generate very high quality, low distortion sine waves that
could be used for testing. This was followed by the company's
introduction of the HP320A and HP320B Distortion Analyzers in
1941.
• Working Principle
It is such a device which measures detects the frequencies which
are responsible for producing harmonic distortion in our signal.
So once the frequencies are detected, the distortion meter now
acts such that it works to eliminate the effect of such frequencies.
For this purpose it has the option to set certain predefined
parameters, so that any frequencies which lie outside these set of
parameters are eliminated and not allowed to pass along with the
original signal. The original signal can then be produced at the
output in whatever way it is required.
signals such as noise, AC line pickup, etc. corrupt the measurement
causing the indicated distortion to be higher than actual.
 These effects can be reduced by adding a broadband filter between
the output of the analyzer and the AC voltmeter. For good results the
filter should be of at least second but preferably fourth order on the
low and high cut-off frequencies.
 Before adding a filter the AC voltmeter reading should be noted with
no signal applied to the electronics under test (notch switch in the
UNNOTCHED position).
 A low-pass filter can also be added to the output of the sine wave
generator to reduce the level of harmonics applied to the amplifier
under test. The filter should have a cut-off frequency somewhat
higher than 1 kHz and should be of at least second order.

So in short a distortion meter not only detects and measures the

distortion in our signal frequencies but also works to overcome or
eliminate them.
Distortion Meter
15
SOURCE : Electrical Engineering Equipment
14. Power Factor Meter

• Origin • Suggested Improvements

The earliest meter was Samual Gardiner’s (USA) lamphour meter
patented in 1872. It measured the time during which energy was
supplied to the load, as all the lamps connected to this meter
were controlled by one switch. Subdividing lighting circuits
became practical with the introduction of Edison’s light bulb,
and this meter became obsolete.
• Working Principle
The Power Factor Meter can be improved if the following limitations are
taken care of
 The loss occurs in the iron part of the meter. The losses depend on
the load and the frequency of the meter.
 The meter has low accuracy.
 The calibration of the meter is affected because of the variation in
supply frequencies, voltage and waveforms etc.

The power factor meter takes a direct reading, but it is less

accurate. The reading obtained from the power factor meter is
sufficient for many purposes to expect precision testing.

The power factor meter has the moving system called pointer
which is in equilibrium with the two opposing forces. Thus, the
pointer of the power factor meter remains at the same position
which is occupied by it at the time of disconnection.

Power Factor Meter

SOURCE: Circuit Globe
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15. Synchroscope

• Origin
Synchroscope was invented for indicating the frequency and phase
relations between the alternating current outputs of two generators
by Jr Frederick W Hornbruch in 1940.

• Working Principle

The simplest aid to synchronizing a generator to another system

uses lamps wired between similar phases of the two systems; when
the lamps stay dark, the voltage and frequency of the two systems
are the same and the generator may be connected. However, the
accuracy of this approach is low since it is difficult to discern slight
phase differences, and the lamps do not show the relative speeds
of the two systems. Synchroscopes are instruments that show the Synchroscope
relative frequency (speed) difference and the phase angle between SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
the machine to be synchronized and the system voltage.

17
16. Magnetometer

• Origin
The first magnetometer capable of measuring the absolute magnetic
intensity was invented by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1833 and notable
developments in the 19th century included the Hall effect, which is
still widely used.

• Working Principle

A magnetometer or magnetic sensor is an instrument that

measures magnetism—either the magnetization of a magnetic
material like a ferromagnet, or the direction, strength, or relative
change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is a
simple type of magnetometer, one that measures the direction of
an ambient magnetic field.

• Suggested Improvements

 Improvement of Sensitivity of a Compact Magnetometer by Using

HTS‐SQUID with Rotating Sample
 Improvement of magnetometer calibration using Levenberg– Magnetometer
Marquardt algorithm SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
 Sensitivity improvement of a resonant 3-axis magnetometer using
dual mass vibrating system
 Calibration improvement of three-axis magnetometer in disturbing
magnetic circumstance based on FIR digital filter 18
17. Thermocouple Gauge
• Origin • Suggested Improvements
The thermocouple was first used as a vacuum gauge by Voege in
1906. The Thermocouple Gauge Meter can be improved if the following
The alternative is the Pirani gauge, a robust thermal limitations are taken care of
conductivity gauge used for the measurement of the pressures in
vacuum systems was invented in 1906 by Marcello Stefano Pirani, a
German physicist working for Siemens & Halske which was involved  Decreased accuracy comparing to RTD
in the vacuum lamp industry.
 More susceptible to RFI/EMI
Pirani was aware of the gas thermal conductivity investigations of
Kundt and Warburg published thirty years earlier and the work of  Recalibration is difficult
Smoluchowski.  Requires expensive TC wire from sensor to recording
• Working Principle device
 Difficult to verify
 A thermocouple can be used as a vacuum gauge over the range
 Not as stable as RTD
of approximately 0.001 to 1 torr absolute pressure.
 In this pressure range, the mean free path of the gas is
comparable to the dimensions of the vacuum chamber, and the
flow regime is neither purely viscous nor purely molecular. In
this configuration, the thermocouple junction is attached to the
centre of a short heating wire, which is usually energised by a
constant current of about 5 mA, and the heat is removed at a
rate related to the thermal conductivity of the gas.
 The temperature detected at the thermocouple junction
depends on the thermal conductivity of the surrounding gas,
which depends on the pressure of the gas. The potential
difference measured by a thermocouple is proportional to
the square of pressure over the low- to medium-vacuum range.
At higher and lower pressures, the thermal conductivity of air Thermocouple Gauge 19
or any other gas is essentially independent of pressure. SOURCE : InstrumentationToday
18. Ammeter
• Origin
The relation between electric current, magnetic fields and physical
forces was first noted by Hans Christian Ørsted who, in 1820,
observed a compass needle was deflected from pointing North when
a current flowed in an adjacent wire.
The word rheoscope as a detector of electrical currents was coined
by Sir Charles Wheatstone about 1840 but is no longer used to
describe electrical instruments.
Early ammeters were laboratory instruments which relied on the
Earth's magnetic field for operation.
• Working Principle
The main principle of Ammeter is that it must have a very low
resistance and also inductive reactance. It has very low impedance
because it must have very low amount of voltage drop across it and
must be connected in series connection because current is same in
the series circuit.
Ammeter
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
• Suggested Improvements
Provision of an ammeter as follows :
 which defines a sensing region, provides accurate measurement of
current flowing in a conductor extending through the sensing region,
and senses whether or not the conductor extends through the
sensing region.
 of the type set forth, which will provide a display of the current
measurement only when the conductor is extending through the
sensing region.
 the type set forth, which utilizes pluralities of position-sensing coils to
detect the position of the conductor relative to the sensing region.
having a current-detecting circuit including a current-sensing
structure arranged to define a sensing region and adapted to sense
the magnitude of electric current flowing in a conductor extending
through the sensing region.
 with a current-detecting circuit including a plurality of current-sensing
coils interconnected in a generally U-shaped array which has two legs
with first ends interconnected by a bight and second ends spaced
apart by a gap, the array defining a sensing region extending from
one leg to the other and from the bight to the gap.
20
19. Voltmeter
• Origin
• Suggested Improvements
The original principals behind voltmeters were established by a
Danish physicist named Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851) in 1820, Improvised design to simplify the construction, cheapen the cost of
when he discovered that an electric current in a wire produced a manufacture, and facilitate the adjustment and repair of the instrument :
magnetic field around it.
almost all types of voltmeters are founded off of the models in  My improved volt meter comprises a removable needle of soft iron
which the pointers were attached to moving coils, which were placed between the poles of a permanent magnet, and enclosed in a
developed by French physicist Jacques-Arsene d'Arsonval(1851- shell or tube of copper, to prevent excessive oscillations. A mirror
1940) in 1882. placed under the index enables the readings to be made with greater
accuracy.

• Working Principle

The main principle of voltmeter is that it must be connected in

parallel in which we want to measure the voltage. Parallel
connection is used because a voltmeter is constructed in such a
way that it has a very high value of resistance.
An ideal voltmeter has two terminals and senses the voltage
between the terminals where they may be connected to a circuit.
Ideally the voltmeter has infinite resistance. It is polarized and
indicates polarity as well as the magnitude of the voltage.

Voltmeter
SOURCE : WIKIANSWERS
21
20. Magnetic Flow Meter
• Origin
• Suggested Improvements
 In 1832, Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) assembled a large scale
open channel magmeter and attempted to use this to measure
the flow of water passing under London’s Waterloo Bridge.  Lining in the context of electromagnetic flow meters refers to
 In 1915, the Americans M.W. Smith and Joseph Slepian filed a applying resin or other alternative materials to the inner walls of a
patent for “A device to measure the speed of a boat by means of detector's measurement tube (metal pipe). Lining is important in
magnetohydrodynamics.”
order to efficiently detect generated very low electromotive force
 In 1930 the same idea was adapted to closed conduits by the levels and ensure corrosion and abrasion resistance to the fluids
Briton E.J. Williams.
being measured.
 In 1952 the Dutch company Tobi-Meter introduced the first  An improved perivascular electromagnetic flowmeter
commercial magmeter.
 Improved magnetic field for an electromagnetic flowmeter with point
 In 1962 the British scientist J.A. Shercliff published the “Theory of electrodes
electromagnetic flow-measurement.”
 Concept of a next-generation electromagnetic phase-shift flowmeter
• Working Principle for liquid metals
 Improved compact electromagnetic liquid flow meter
 A magnetic field is applied to the metering tube, which results
in a potential difference proportional to the flow velocity
perpendicular to the flux lines. The physical principle at work
is electromagnetic induction. The magnetic flow meter requires
a conducting fluid, for example, water that contains ions, and
an electrical insulating pipe surface, for example, a rubber-lined
steel tube.

 In modern magnetic flowmeters, the magnetic field is

constantly reversed, cancelling out the electrochemical
potential difference, which does not change direction with the Magnetic Flow Meter
magnetic field. This however prevents the use of permanent SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA 22
magnets for magnetic flowmeters.
21. Varmeter

• Origin
Varmeter was invented for measuring the reactive volt amperes of
single phase alternating current circuits by Harry M Witherow of
General Electric Co in 1940.

• Working Principle

The current which passes through the current coil is the load
current. The load current has a phase difference of 90° concerning
that of the supply voltage, and it is given by the equation shown
below.

Varmeter
SOURCE : Circuit Globe
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22. Permeameter

• Origin
The name was first applied by Silvanus P. Thompson to an apparatus
devised by himself in 1890, which indicates the mechanical force
required to detach one end of the sample, arranged as the core of a
straight electromagnet, from an iron yoke of special form; when this
force is known, the permeability can be easily calculated.

• Working Principle

Essentially, a permeameter measures the pressure drop across a

sample as fluid passes through it, along with the flow rate. The
sample’s thickness and area, and the fluid’s viscosity, are also
entered into an equation from which permeability can be
calculated.

Permeameter
SOURCE : WEB
• Suggested Improvements

Permeameter may be improved and modified accordingly and diversely

depending upon the field of usage and application.

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23. Coulometer

• Origin
Karl Fischer titration is a classic titration method in analytical
chemistry that uses coulometric or volumetric titration to determine
trace amounts of water in a sample. It was invented in 1935 by the
German chemist Karl Fischer.
It used an instrument of chemical analysis that determines the
amount of a substance released in electrolysis by measurement of
the quantity of electricity used, called Coulometer

• Working Principle

The main principle involved in the coulometry is the measurement

of the quantity of the electricity which is directly proportional to
the chemical reaction at the electrode. This is given by the
Faraday's first law: where Q is the consumed current; M r is the
relative molecular weight. Coulometer
SOURCE : WEB

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24. Barometer
• Origin
Although Evangelista Torricelli is universally credited with inventing
the barometer in 1643, historical documentation also suggests
Gasparo Berti, an Italian mathematician and astronomer,
unintentionally built a water barometer sometime between 1640
and 1643.

• Working Principle

The simplest kind of barometer is a tall closed tube standing upside

down in a bath of mercury (a dense liquid metal at room
temperature) so the liquid rises partly up the tube a bit like it does
in a thermometer. We use mercury in barometers because it's more
convenient than using water. Water is less dense (less heavy, in
effect) than mercury so air pressure will lift a certain volume of
water much higher up a tube than the same volume of mercury. In
other words, if you use water, you need a really tall tube and your
barometer will be so enormous as to be impractical. But if you use
mercury, you can get by with a much smaller piece of equipment.

• Suggested Improvements

 USE OF NEW S3C FUZZY LOGIC FOR IMPROVEMENT OF BAROMETER

CALIBRATION PROCEDURE Barometer
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
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25. Piezoelectric accelerometer

• Origin
In 1880, Pierre and Jacques Curie published an experimental
demonstration connecting mechanical stress and surface charge on a
crystal. This phenomenon became known as the piezoelectric effect.
Closely related to this phenomenon is the Curie point, named for the
physicist Pierre Curie, which is the temperature above which
piezoelectric material loses spontaneous polarization of its atoms.

• Working Principle

As with all transducers, piezoelectric convert one form of energy

into another and provide an electrical signal in response to a
quantity, property, or condition that is being measured. Using the
general sensing method upon which all accelerometers are based,
acceleration acts upon a seismic mass that is restrained by a spring
or suspended on a cantilever beam, and converts a physical force
into an electrical signal. Before the acceleration can be converted
Piezoelectric accelerometer
into an electrical quantity it must first be converted into either a
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
force or displacement. This conversion is done via the mass spring
system shown in the figure to the right.

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