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bridge circuit

bridge circuit

6.5
An electric circuit in a diamond shape that measures resistance when you connect a meter across it
  • noun
  • /brɪdʒ ˈsɜrkɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : circuito puente
  • The difference in the resistance of the RTD in the active catalytic element relative to the reference RTD is measured using a bridge circuit.
  • Wheatstone bridge circuit

Examples

  • Each strain gauge element had its own Wheatstone bridge circuit.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The Wheatstone bridge circuit is commonly used in laboratories to measure electrical resistance.

  • DIAGRAM: Figure 4. Wheatstone Bridge circuit.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The H-bridge circuit relied on the idea of the transistor as a switch.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Strain gauge bridge circuits in the force plate were excited with 4.5 volts.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Strain gauge bridge circuits in the force plate were excited with 4.5 volts.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The unit is designed to be connected to three full Wheatstone bridge circuits, a circuit typically used in strain-gage force transducers.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The unit provides bridge balancing, amplification, and filtering for three channels of Wheatstone bridge circuits.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Early work on this had been done in 1839 by Cooke and by Wheatstone, the inventor of the bridge circuit that bears his name.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The change in resistance is measured as a voltage, E, output by a Wheatstone bridge circuit in a "quarter-bridge" configuration (Figure 4).

    Academic text (1993)

Synonyms

bridge
vsbridge circuit
  • Specialized
3 7.5

An electrical circuit shaped like a diamond used to measure resistance

measures various electrical quantities by connecting a meter across its branches
Wheatstone bridge
vsbridge circuit
  • Specialized
7.5

A circuit that measures how strongly a part stops electric current by balancing two sides

is the general diamond shaped circuit used for many electrical measurements

How Complex

Wheatstone bridge
  • Specialized
7.5
bridge circuit
  • Specialized
6.5
circuit
  • Specialized
162 3.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

bridge + circuit

The phrase is partly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'bridge' (something that connects) and 'circuit' (an electrical path) can infer it denotes a kind of circuit that bridges or connects branches. However, the precise technical sense (the specific diamond/bridge arrangement used for accurate measurement, e.g. a Wheatstone bridge) is specialised knowledge beyond ordinary word meanings, so the full meaning is not predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

The noun bridge circuit comes from the image of a bridge joining two paths of wire: the circuit makes two sides and a meter sits across the middle like a plank between them. Because the meter uses that bridge to 'compare' the two sides, the name means a circuit used to 'measure' electrical values.