Wheatstone Bridge

Wheatstone bridge
Wheatstone bridge circuit diagram.
The unknown resistance Rx is to be

measured; resistances R1, R2and R3 are
known and R2 is adjustable. If the
measured voltage VG is 0,
then R2/R1 = Rx/R3. is an electrical
circuit used to measure an
unknown electrical resistance by balancing
two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which
includes the unknown component. The
primary benefit of the circuit is its ability to
provide extremely accurate measurements
(in contrast with something like a
simple voltage divider).Its operation is
similar to the original potentiometer.
The Wheatstone bridge was invented
by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and
improved and popularized by Sir Charles
Wheatstone in 1843. One of the
Wheatstone bridge's initial uses was for the
purpose of soils analysis and comparison.
Operation
In the figure, Rx is the unknown resistance
measured.R1,R2 and R3 are resistors of
known resistance and the resistance of R2
is adjustable. The resistance R2 is adjusted
until the bridge is "balanced" and no
current flows through the galvanometer . At
this point, the voltage between the two
midpoints (B and D) will be zero. Therefore
the ratio of the two resistances in the
known leg (R2/R1) is equal to the ratio of
the two in the unknown leg(R x/R3). If the
bridge is unbalanced, the direction of the
current indicates whether R2 is too high or
too low.
At the point of balance,
(R2/R1) = (Rx/R3)
Rx =(R2/R1)*R3
Detecting zero current with
a galvanometer can be done to extremely
high precision. Therefore,
if R1,R2 and R3 are known to high
precision, then Rx can be measured to high
precision. Very small changes in Rx disrupt
the balance and are readily detected.
Alternatively, if R1, R2 and R3 are known,

but R2 is not adjustable, the voltage
difference across or current flow through
the meter can be used to calculate the value
of Rx using Kirchhoff's circuit laws. This
setup is used in strain gauge and resistance
thermometer measurements, as it is usually
faster to read a voltage level off a meter
than to adjust a resistance to zero the
voltage.
Derivation
Directions of currents arbitrarily
assigned
First, Kirchhoff's first law is used to find the
currents in junctions B and D:
I3-Ix+Ig=0
I1-I2+Ig=0
Then, Kirchhoff's second law is used for
finding the voltage in the
loops ABD and BCD:
(I3.R3)- (Ig .Rg) -(I1.R1)=0
(Ix.Rx)-(I2.R2)+(Ig.Rg)=0
When the bridge is balanced, then IG = 0, so

the second set of equations can be rewritten
as:
I3.R3=I1R1 ……… (1)
Ix.Rx=I2.R2 ..……. (2)
Then, equation (1) is divided by equation

(2) and the resulting equation is
rearranged, giving:
Rx=(R2I2.I3R3)/(R1I1.Ix)
Due to: I3 = Ix and I1 = I2 being proportional

from Kirchhoff's First Law in the above
equation I3 I2 over I1 Ix cancel out of the
above equation. The desired value of Rx is
now known to be given as:
Rx=(R3.R2)/R1
On the other hand, if the resistance of the

galvanometer is high enough that IG is
negligible, it is possible to compute Rx from
the three other resistor values and the
supply voltage (VS), or the supply voltage
from all four resistor values. To do so, one
has to work out the voltage from
each potential divider and subtract one
from the other. The equations for this are:
Vg=[(R2/R1+R2)-(Rx/Rx+R3)]Vs
Rx=[R2.Vs(R1+R2)]/[R1.Vs+(R1+R2)]*(Vg
.R3/Vg)
where VG is the voltage of node D relative to

node B.
Significance
The Wheatstone bridge illustrates the
concept of a difference measurement,
which can be extremely accurate.
Variations on the Wheatstone bridge can be
used to measure
capacitance, inductance, impedance , other
quantities, such as the amount of
combustible gases in a sample, with
an explosimeter. The Kelvin bridge was
specially adapted from the Wheatstone
bridge for measuring very low resistances.
In many cases, the significance of
measuring the unknown resistance is
related to measuring the impact of some
physical phenomenon (such as force,
temperature, pressure, etc.) which thereby
allows the use of Wheatstone bridge in
measuring those elements indirectly.
METER BRIDGE
Meter Bridge consists of a 1 meter long
standard resistance wire of uniform cross-
section held taut between two ends of
metallic strip bent at right angle at the
ends. There are two gaps, one on the left
side and the other on the right side, in the
horizontal part of the metallic strip where
two resistors, one of which is known and
the other unknown are attached.
The knife edge end of the jokey is moved on
the wire until the galvanometer shows null
reading. Let D be the position of the jokey
on the wire, when null reading is obtained.
Let ‘r’ be the resistance per centimetre of
the standard wire. As the area of cross
section of the standard wire is constant, its
resistance is proportional to its length.
Resistance of the wire AD = r l,

Resistance of the wire DC = r(100 – l)
Wheatstone Bridge and Meter Bridge
circuits are completely similar.
The following table gives the comparison of
resistances shown in the Wheatstone
Bridge and Meter Bridge.
Wheatstone Meter Bridge
Bridge
AB R2 S
BC Rx R
DA R1 rl
CD R3 r(100-l)
AC Cell Cell
BD Galvanometer Galvanometer
 Meter bridge is based on the principle of

wheatstone bridge and it is used to find
the resistance of an unknown conductor
or to compare two unknown
resistance
 Figure below shows a schematic diagram
of a meter bridge
 In above figure AC is a 1m long wire made

of maganin or constanan having uniform
area of cross-section
 This wire is stretched along a scale one a
wooden base
 Ends A and C of the wire are screwed to
two L shaped copper strips as shown in
figure
 A resistance box R and an unknown
resistance S are connected as shown in
figure
 One terminal of galvanometer is
connected to point D and another
terminal is joined to a jockey that can be
slided on a bridge wire
 when we adjust the suitable resistance of
value R in the resistance box and slide
this jockey along the wire then a balance
point is obtained sat at point B
 Since the circuit now is the same as that of
wheatstone bridge ,so from the condition
of balanced wheatstone bridge we have
P/Q=R/S
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 N.C.E.R.T
 Google.com
 www.wikepidiea.com
INDEX
S NO TOPIC PAGE NO
1 Introduction 1-2
2 Nomenclature 3-4
3 preparation 5-15
4 Properties 16-20
5 Important 21-23
alcohols
6 Bibliography 24
Physics
Project
Wheatstone
Bridge
Submitted to- Submitted by-
Mr. D.P. Singh Divyansh Pandey

Wheatstone Bridge

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Wheatstone bridge

Wheatstone bridge circuit diagram.

The unknown resistance Rx is to be

Alternatively, if R1, R2 and R3 are known,

When the bridge is balanced, then IG = 0, so

Then, equation (1) is divided by equation

Due to: I3 = Ix and I1 = I2 being proportional

On the other hand, if the resistance of the

where VG is the voltage of node D relative to

Resistance of the wire AD = r l,

 Meter bridge is based on the principle of

 In above figure AC is a 1m long wire made

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