Question
Question: Why do we prefer a potentiometer with a longer bridge wire?...
Why do we prefer a potentiometer with a longer bridge wire?
Solution
When the potentiometer is understood, the operation of the potentiometer may be explained. It is a three-terminal resistor with either sliding or rotating contacts that function as an adjustable voltage divider. To be used as a rheostat or variable resistor, the potentiometer needs only have two terminals: one end and the wiper.
Complete step by step answer:
on the principle that the potential drop is proportionate to the length of the wire. As a result, the potential gradient would be smaller for longer lengths. In this situation, the distance between the null location and the null position is increased, which aids in an accurate measurement.
Explanation:
The greater the physical distance, the higher the resistance resolution. Keep in mind that a potentiometer is a physical device with a wiper that slides across the resistance material, which could be wire or conductive plastic. The wiper is not a point contact, but rather a metal region that makes contact with the resistor.
An analogy would be useful here. A mercury thermometer, liquid in the glass, has a scale that is calibrated in X number of inches per degree change in temperature based on how much the mercury rises per degree. Resolution refers to how precisely your eye can identify the level of mercury besides the scale. The longer the scale, the more precisely the temperature can be determined. As a result, the most precise thermometers in terms of the resolution are designed to create a large change in level/deg. A potentiometer works on the same basis.
The most precise rotary potentiometers have ten-turn travel. This is accomplished by forming the resistor into a helical shape and attaching a wiper going along the coil to a screw with the same pitch as the coil. As a result, the resistor is ten times longer.
Note:
It is typically used in a technical field.
Because the potentiometer is used to limit the passage of electric current, it refers to the current, generating a voltage drop. The potentiometer's current and voltage values can only be changed when the resistance of the potentiometer is changed. Keep in mind that if it were a set resistance, the resistance value would always be the same.