sensor


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
Related to sensor: proximity sensor

sensor

anything, such as a photoelectric cell, that receives a signal or stimulus and responds to it
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sensor

[′sen·sər]
(engineering)
The generic name for a device that senses either the absolute value or a change in a physical quantity such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, or pH, or the intensity of light, sound, or radio waves and converts that change into a useful input signal for an information-gathering system; a television camera is therefore a sensor, and a transducer is a special type of sensor. Also known as primary detector; sensing element.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

sensor, detector, sensing device

A device which senses or detects an abnormal ambient condition, such as smoke or unusually high temperature; used to initiate an alarm signal, open a smoke hatch, etc.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

sensor

Equipment that detects, thus allowing an indicator to indicate and/or record, conditions, objects, and activities by means of energy or particles emitted, reflected, or modified by objects. Infrared or radar receivers, thermocouples, and pressure sensors are examples of sensors.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

sensor

(hardware)
An electronic device used to measure a physical quantity such as temperature, pressure or loudness and convert it into an electronic signal of some kind (e.g a voltage). Sensors are normally components of some larger electronic system such as a computer control and/or measurement system.

Analog sensors most often produce a voltage proportional to the measured quantity. The signal must be converted to digital form with a ADC before the CPU can process it.

Digital sensors most often use serial communication such as EIA-232 to return information directly to the controller or computer through a serial port.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Sensor

 

(in Russian, datchik; also pickup), an element of a measuring, signaling, regulating, or control device in a system that converts the value being monitored (such as pressure, temperature, frequency, velocity, displacement, voltage, or electric current) into a signal that is convenient for measurement, transmission, conversion, storage, and recording, as well as for influencing the processes being regulated.

A sensor usually contains a receiving (sensing) member, as well as one or more intermediate converters (see Figure 1). However, the sensor frequently consists only of the receiving member (for example, a thermocouple, a resistance thermometer, or a strain gauge). The output signals of a sensor are distinguished according to the type of energy (electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, or less frequently, hydraulic) and the type of modulation of the energy flow (amplitude, frequency, phase, or discrete [coded]).

The operation of the most common sensors is based on a

Figure 1. Structural schematic diagrams of sensors (left side, block diagram; right side, examples of construction): (a) simplest type of sensor (thermocouple), (b) converters in a grid connection, (c) differential sensor, (d) compensating sensor; (1) sensing element of a sensor, (1a) thermocouple, (1b) and (1d) diaphragms, (1c) inductive solenoid sensor, (2) output member, (2b) inductive sensor, (3) error signal meter (subtractive element), (3d) inductive sensor, (4) amplifier, (5) compensating generator, (5d) electromagnetic system, (6) intermediate member; (R) electrical resistance, (L) inductance, (e) electromotive force, (l) electric current, (p) pressure

change in the electrical resistance, capacitance, inductance, or mutual inductance of an electrical circuit (resistance transducers, capitance sensors, and inductance sensors). Another widely used type of sensor generates an electromotive force as a result of influences by the mechanical, acoustic, thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical, or radiation quantity being measured or monitored. This category includes strain gauges, piezoelectric pickups, and photocells.

The operation of sensors is characterized by the law governing the change in the value of the output (y) as a function of a change in the value of the input (x), the limits of the change in the input values (xmln - xmax) and the output values (ymin - ymax), sensitivity S = Δy/Δx, the sensitivity threshold (the value of the minimum effect to which a sensor will respond), and time parameters (time constants).

According to the classification established by the State System of Automation Devices and Components (GSP), sensors are classified as technical means of data collection and primary processing of measurement and monitoring information. Sensors are one of the basic elements in remote-control measuring devices, in telemetry and telesignalization, in regulation and control applications, and in various devices and equipment used in physics, biology, and medicine for monitoring the vital processes of humans, animals, and plants (biological sensors). Sensors are of great importance in the automation of production processes, where they are used to measure and record the density and concentration of solutions, the composition and properties of substances, the dynamic viscosity and fluidity of various mediums, humidity, transparency, color intensity, layer thickness, temperature, elasticity, the concentration of charge carriers, and other parameters characterizing a technical process. Sensors used for such purposes often utilize ultrasonic, radio-frequency, optical, and radiation measuring methods. Random-number pickups are used to simulate real conditions in testing automatic control systems and in computer technology for solving problems by statistical methods.

Specific requirements are made of the output signals and characteristics of sensors used in machines for centralized monitoring and control. The successive connection of large numbers of sensors to the same measuring device requires a high degree of uniformity of the sensors’ output parameters. In some cases the term “sensor” is used to designate the entire transmitting portion of a remote-control mechanical device or automatic device.

REFERENCES

Ageikin, D. I., E. N. Kostina, and N. N. Kuznetsova. Datchiki kontrolia i regulirovaniia, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1965.
Turichin, A. M. Elektricheskie izmereniia neelektricheskikh velichin, 4th ed. Moscow-Leningrad, 1966.
Elektricheskie izmeritel’nye preobrazovateli. Edited by R. R. Khar-chenko. Moscow-Leningrad. 1967.
Dolgov, V. A., and A. V. Kelin. Elektronnye datchiki dlia av-tomaticheskikh sistem kontrolia. Moscow, 1968.

M. M. GEL’MAN

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
Often times, the location of the knock sensor depends entirely on how effective it will be in catching the noise an engine makes, however, you can find it bolted on the center of the wall of the cylinder block.
How much sense does your car have?
Pavel Naiya, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research,says: "Sensors such as accelerometer, compass, gyroscope and ambient light sensors (ALS) have become ubiquitous across smartphones even down to a sub-$50 category.
Smartphone sensor shipments to top 10B in 2020: study
Always cover the sensor with the recommended sheath.
Protecting your digital tools: intraoral sensor care and maintenance
The U500 has a special place in the range of ultrasonic sensors due to its versatile performance.
Baumer NextGen sensors
We integrated sensor devices for cloud computing to manage them as one of the IT resources in the same way as CPUs, storage, and memory.
Innovative IaaS management system for sensor devices and IT resources
“The stringent government policies aimed at minimizing the environmental pollution along with the country's rapidly expanding automotive and electronics market will contribute to the growth of China's sensor market.
China Sensor Market to Grow at 16% CAGR During 2013-2018 Says TechSci Research
The fastest growth, albeit from a small base, will be realized by semiconductor sensors, which will benefit from improved performance and their low cost.
US demand for chemical sensors to reach $1.9 billion in 2017
The parasitic capacitance of the inductor is dependent on its dimension and the permittivity of the medium in the proximity of the sensor. The relative permittivity of water, about 70-80, is much higher than that of most civil construction materials, which are generally less than 5 [21].
Development and application of the single-spiral inductive-capacitive resonant circuit sensor for wireless, real-time characterization of moisture in sand
Micro-Epsilon's MainSensors MDS family of magneto-inductive displacement sensors combine the robustness and proven performance of eddy current sensor technology with printed coil and permanent magnet technology.
Sensing innovation: new technology in sensors is often about applying ideas from one sector into mass-market applications and tough environments

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?