01.09.2016 Views

1445326735900-0

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Measuring current and voltage<br />

Figure 3.14 A circuit which is used to show the effect of the meter’s own<br />

resistance in a circuit<br />

you apply your multi-meter across resistor R2 you find that<br />

the voltage indicated is only about 3 V.<br />

The fact is that when the multi-meter is not connected to the<br />

circuit the voltage is 4.5 V, but as soon as the multi-meter is<br />

applied, the voltage across resistor R2 falls to 3 V. Also, the<br />

voltage across resistor R1 rises to 6 V (both voltages must<br />

add up to the battery voltage, remember). Applying the<br />

multi-meter affects the operation of the circuit, because the<br />

multi-meter resistance is in parallel with resistor R2.<br />

Ohms per volt<br />

A meter’s internal resistance is stated as a number of ohms per<br />

volt. For example, the resistance of the meter we use in this<br />

book is 20,000 ohms per volt (written 20 kΩV -1 ) on d.c. voltage<br />

scales so when it’s to read 4.5 V, it’s resistance is 90 k. This<br />

73

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!