Wheatstone bridge
Noun
Meaning
Wheatstone bridge (plural Wheatstone bridges)
An instrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
A single resistor may be used, or a pair (half bridge), or four resistors connected in a Wheatstone bridge configuration.
The Wheatstone bridge was invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and improved and popularized by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1843.
Modifications of the fundamental bridge Kelvin bridge The Wheatstone bridge is the fundamental bridge, but there are other modifications that can be made to measure various kinds of resistances when the fundamental Wheatstone bridge is not suitable.