Do you need to create an electrical circuit? The potentiometer is one of the electronic components you might need. Also known by the familiar term “pot,” this device is a resistor with three terminals, one of which is connected to a slider that can move, thus varying the resistance relative to the other terminals. The potentiometer can be rotary or linear, digital or analog.
Want to discover the different types of potentiometers we have along with the respective applications for this electronic equipment? Read on!
The different types of potentiometers
The logarithmic potentiometer, the linear potentiometer, the digital potentiometer, and the mid-point potentiometer are the four types of potentiometers that exist.
• Logarithmic potentiometer
With this type of potentiometer, the more you move the slider, the more its resistance value changes quickly by increasing or decreasing. Specifically, the rate of change is high when the slider reaches one end of the track, while it is low when the slider moves towards the end. This implies that the logarithmic potentiometer has a resistance that oscillates, as its name suggests, logarithmically.
• Linear potentiometer
The particularity of the linear potentiometer lies in the fact that its resistance value is proportional to the distance between the slider and its terminals. This means it changes according to the slider’s position. Thus, when the slider reaches the middle of the track, the same ohmic resistance is obtained between it and the two ends of the track.
• Digital potentiometer
This is a type of potentiometer whose resistance varies according to the numeric value assigned to it. Besides this point, the digital potentiometer functions like an analog potentiometer.
• Mid-point potentiometer
While in the past it was found in amplifiers, the mid-point potentiometer nowadays is used exclusively for position reading. This electronic component is comparable to a potentiometer with two fixed resistances.
Applications related to the potentiometer
Potentiometers, of all types, have various uses. Thus, they can be used in audio/video, television, and in the assembly of a computer. Additionally, potentiometers can function as transducers or variable resistors.
In the realm of audio/video, potentiometers are part of the components of devices used for processing video or sound. They primarily serve to control the sound, specifically, the frequency and volume, among others. Previously used in the manufacturing of televisions, rotary potentiometers are employed for adjustments related to brightness, saturation, and contrast on television.
