Re: connecting an ammeter

From: Jarrid Gross (Yorba Linda, CA) (GROSS(at)unit.com)
Date: Tue Jan 13 1998 - 11:02:00 CST


From: siegfried

>I think I rememeber this problem in my freshman colege physics course:
>"which side of the ammeter does the load go?" We spent what seemed then
>to be alot of time on the figuring out if one connects an ammeter in
>parallel or in series? I forgot the answer.
>Not that I got a good grade in that course but ..I'm voting Series

This is correct, measuring the current, is like measuring water flow
in a pipe, you have to break into the pipe, to measure what is flowing
through it.

Unlike voltage, which is like measuring the pressure in the pipe,
which requires only that you tap a single point off the pipe.

>But doesn't connecting the ammeter in series result in a voltage drop?
>or is the resistance ultra-low?

Yes, there will be a voltage drop across the ammeter.
Typically ammeters use fairly sensitive movements that do not
cause a large voltage drop to deflect the meter needle.
The ammeter will have a very low resistance shunt across the
movement, which is what sets the full scale current of the meter.

Dont know what the drop across the Jaeger movement is, but I am sure it
is less than a tenth of a volt.

Jarrid



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