Author Topic: can any1 plz explain..wat is potential divider nd how does it work??  (Read 2359 times)

Offline zshan

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 17
  • Reputation: 155

Offline SauD~

  • Chére
  • SF V.I.P
  • ********
  • Posts: 8629
  • Reputation: 65535
  • Gender: Male
  • ~ I wish my dream comes true ~
They can be used to split the voltage of a circuit. They are widely used in electronic circuits for setting and adjusting voltages - e.g. in radios, games and toys. You may find that you need a supply of 6 volts and you have a 9 volt battery, your only option may be to make a potential divider.

Source:http://www.technologystudent.com/elec1/resist2.htm


Offline JD46

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 33
  • Reputation: 73
Re: can any1 plz explain..wat is potential divider nd how does it work??
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2012, 12:59:37 pm »
I'll delve into more detail to help you understand better. Potential dividers utilize the principle in series circuits that dictates that current is constant and voltage is divided. So when making such circuits they usually divided the voltage such. Sometimes a variables resistor or LDR or thermistor is added to alter the voltage in certain circumstances. for example the thermistor:
The thermistor is an component of a circuit that has a high 'R' at normal temps. but when its heated its Resisitance falls. Now if you check any diagram this means that the next resistor will get more voltage allocated to it, and it so happens that the 'next' resistor is the one that sends out the Vout and voila the voltage has been increased and it can set off a fire alarm( how else would temperature increase eh?)
Sorry for the typos, in a rush..
I host IGCSE help files bundled together on my blog
http://igcseprep.blogspot.in/