WHEAT STONE BRIDGE

• History
• How does it work?
• How is it used?
• Impact of the circuit
• Summary

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 History

• The Wheatstone Bridge was invented in 1833 by Samuel Hunter

Christie
• Later named after Sir Charles Wheatstone for his many
applications of the circuit through the 1840s
• The most common procedure for the bridge remains the testing
of unknown electrical resistance

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 How Does it Work?

• Uses ratio of 3 known resistors

• Measures fourth unknown resistance
• Balanced voltage between point 1 and battery’s negative, and
between point 2 and battery’s negative allows the measurement

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 How Does it Work? (cont.)

• By changing resistors to adjusting variable resistors to balance

the device, the mathematical ratio is used to calculate the
fourth (unknown) resistance

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 How is it used?
• Main focus of the Wheatstone Bridge = applications using
electricity
• The circuit monitors sensor devices like strain gauges – it reads
the level of the strain in the system
• The galvanometer measures whether the gauges are balanced or
not
• Electrical power distributors use the Wheatstone Bridge to locate
breaks in the power lines

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 Wheatstone Bridge

Note that if R1  R2 and R

3
 R4 then V
0
 V a Vb  0
Why?

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 Wheatstone Bridge

V0  V a Vb

 R2 
Va  V dc  
 R1  R 2 

 R4 
Vb  V dc  
 R3  R4 

 R2 R4 
V0  V dc   
 R1  R 2 R 3  R 4 

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 Measuring Resistance, R3

 R2 R4 
V0  V dc   
 R1  R 2 R 3  R 4 
V0 R2 R4
 
V dc R1  R2 R3  R4

 V0 R2 
 R3  R4      R 4
 V dc R 1  R 2 
Solving forR 3  
 
R3  R4  1
 1
 R V0  
 2
  
  R 1  R 2 V dc   अपने मोबाइल या कं यूट र
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 Impact of the Wheatstone Bridge

The Wheatstone Bridge is a very simple design, although there

are more complex versions of achieving the same outcome
Can be adjusted easily
Fairly inexpensive to produce
Also indirectly measures any variable that would change the
resistance of a material
Ex: temperature, force, pressure

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 Summary

Created in 1833, popularized in 1840s

Wheatstone bridges are one of the best methods of measuring
resistance due to the basic mathematical ratio involved.
Accurate standards with sensitive enough voltmeter,
measurements of resistance within .05% can be reached.
Many calibration laboratories still use this method today.
The Wheatstone Bridge are replaceable; however, for its
simplicity and versatility the circuit is an indispensible piece of
technology

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