How Does a Voltage Meter Work?
What is a Voltage Meter?
A voltage meter is a device that is used to measure the strength of an electrical current flowing within an electrical circuit. Essentially what it does is measure the electrical potential (the strength of an electrical charge) at two specific points within the circuit. It then compares these potentials and presents the difference between the two. This difference is the rate at which current florws through the circuit. Voltage meters can be analog devices which use an arrow to indicate the electrical potential, while digital ones provide a read-out.
Structure
At the center of the voltage meter is a magnet connected at both ends to pieces of magnetized iron. Sitting between the ends of the magnet is a cylinder made of iron. Because of its placement, the cylinder sits within both the positive and negative fields put out by the magnet. A coil of copper wire is wrapped around the far end of the cylinder, all of which is fitted into a housing. At the far end of the wire is a needle, steadied on either side by a spring. Behind the needle is the dial representing voltage. Fitted on the outside of the housing are two more wires, each of which connects to either end of the magnet.
How Does a Voltage Meter Work?
When the voltage meter is at rest, the needle points to the left side of the meter, representing zero electrical potential. The wire leads are attached to two parts of a live circuit. This causes the electricity to polarize the magnet within the meter even further. Should the difference of the potential between the two wires be a positive number, which it would be if any electricity were flowing through the circuit at all, the magnetic field within the meter becomes positively imbalanced, causing the needle to pull from the left side of the meter to the right, indicating how strong the electrical potential is.
Tags: electrical potential, Meter Work, Voltage Meter Work, Does Voltage, Does Voltage Meter, left side, left side meter
