TRANSDUCERS

Device which provides a usable output in response to a specified measurand.

Here, the output is defined as an electrical quantity and measurand as a physical
quantity, property or condition which is measured.
Sensors

A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from
the physical environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion,
moisture, pressure, or any one of a great number of other environmental
phenomena. The output is generally a signal that is converted to humanreadable display at the sensor location or transmitted electronically over
a network for reading or further processing.
Here are a few examples of the many different types of sensors:
In a mercury-based glass thermometer, the input is temperature. The
liquid contained expands and contracts in response, causing the level to
be higher or lower on the marked gauge, which is human-readable.

Actuators
Converts a signal(usually electrical) to some action, usually mechanical.

Difference between Sensors and Actuators

A Sensor can sense in any form(usually electronic) i.e due to some
mechanical change, it can react in electrical form. Thus there is a
conversion, similar to that of a transducer. A classic example would be a
thermocouple. Or a pressure sensor which might detect pressure and convert it into
electric current (3-15psi to 4-20ma)
A Transducer is more than a sensor. It consists of a sensor/actuator along
with signal conditioning circuits.A signal conditioning circuit, by the name is a
circuit which conditions the signal so that it is strong enough for further processing.
A system might contain many stages before the signal finally reaches its destination
to derive meaningful information.
The purpose of a sensor is to detect and measure, and whether its efficiency is 5%
or 0.1% is almost immaterial, provided the figure is known. A transducer by

contrast, is intended to convert energy, and its efficiency is important, though in

some cases it may not be high.
Active and Passive Transducers
Modulating transducer requires an auxiliary energy source Strain gauge,
thermal resistor, liquid-crystal-display. Self-generating transducer requires no
auxiliary energy source Solar cell, thermocouple, piezoelectric element