MODULE 3

WHEATSTONE BRIDGE

NAME : GADING AULIA 06

NIM : 2041160028

I. PURPOSE
• Understand the working principle of the Wheatstone Bridge.
• Arrange a circuit of Wheatstone Bridges.
• Determine the amount of resistance that is not yet known with the
Weatstone Bridge.
II. BASIC THEORY

The Wheatstone Bridge is a tool gauge, this tool is used to obtain accuracy in
carrying out measurements of a resistance whose value is relatively small, for example a leak
from a ground cable / crankcase and so on. Wheatstone bridges are the most commonly used
instrument for precise resistance measurements in the 1 to 100,000 Ω area. The Wheatstone
Bridge consists of resistances R1, R2, R3, where the resistance is a resistance whose value is
known accurately and can be adjusted. (Dedy, 2012)
Laws related to the principle of the Wheatstone Bridge are Kirchoff's Laws I and II.
In the middle of the 19th century, Gustav Robert Kichoff (1824-1887) discovered a
way to determine the electric current in a branched circuit which became known as
Kirchoff's law. Kirchoff's law reads "The amount of current that enters the branch is equal to
the amount of current that comes out of the branch."
Total Input = Output
Kirchoff II's law reads, "In a closed circuit, the algebraic sum of GGL (E) and the
amount of potential drop equals zero."
The meaning of the amount of potential reduction equal to zero is the absence of
electrical energy that is lost in the circuit or in the sense that all energy can be used or
absorbed. (Ibid)
The Wheatstone bridge method can be used to measure electrical resistance. This
method does not require a voltmeter and ammeter, just one Galvanometer to see if there is an
electric current through a circuit.
 C
Rb
Ra

Rs
Rx
D

S
E

Wheatstone Bridge Circuit

Caption :
S: Connecting switch
G: Galvanometer
E: Current voltage source
Rs: Sliding resistance
Ra and Rb: Obstacles whose value is already known.
Rx: The resistance that will be determined the value.

When the switch S is closed, the current will pass through the circuit. If the
Galvanometer needle deviates, it means that there is a current passing through it, namely
between points C and D there is a potential difference. By adjusting the magnitude of Ra and
Rb also the shear resistance Rs will be achieved by the galvanometer G unplanted current,
meaning that there is no potential difference between points C and D. Thus the equation will
apply:
Ra
Rx = R S
R
B

The AB conducting wire is given a sliding contact originating from the end of the
Galvanometer. The point is to adjust the length measurements of L1 and L2 which will
produce a current in the Galvanometer equal to ZERO. Therefore, the AB wire needs to be
completed with a length measurement scale.
L 2
Rx = L 1Ra
 Note: RX = the resistance to be determined (Ω)
Ra = Parallel resistance (Ω)
L1 = Wire segment 1 (m)
L2 = Wire segment 2 (m)
(Anonymous, 2008. attarisk.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/j Jembatan-wheatstone-l3.doc).
The working principle of the Wheatstone Bridge, namely: The relationship
between resistance and resistance, which means that each conductor has a certain amount of
resistance. And also determine resistance as a function of temperature changes. Kirchoff's
Laws 1 and 2, this law describes the bridge in a balanced state because the magnitude of the
current at both ends of the galvanometer is the same so that they cancel each other out.
(Dedy, 2012)
III. EXPERIMENTS AND MATERIALS
1. Wheatstone bridge
2. Cable
3. Switch
4. Basic meter
IV. EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE / STEPS

1. All tools are assembled by connecting cables according to their color.

2. Metal contacts connected to the wire, shifted to the right or left, until the
galvanometer needle shows zero.
3. The length of the wire to the left and right of the metal contact is measured.
4. The value of the variable resistor varies, to get different results. Then repeated steps 2
and 3.
5. The RX resistor is replaced with another, and steps from 3 through.
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.755m A

V1 R5
DC 1000Ohm
60V 200Ω 0%
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.655m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
60V 200Ω 10 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

0
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.552m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
60V
200Ω 20 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.447m A

V1 R5
DC 1000Ohm
60V 200Ω 30 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

0
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.339m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
60V
200Ω 40 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

R1 R2
1000Ω 600Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.229m A

V1 R5
DC 1000Ohm
60V 200Ω 50 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

0
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 500Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7.116m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
50V
200Ω 60 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

R1 R2
1000Ω 500Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-7m A

V1 R5
DC 1000Ohm
50V 200Ω 70 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

0
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 500Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-6.881m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
50V
200Ω 80 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

R1 R2
1000Ω 500Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-6.759m A

V1 R5
DC 1000Ohm
50V 200Ω 90 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω

0
 3

R1 R2
1000Ω 500Ω

1 U1 2
+ -
-6.633m A

V1
DC 1000Ohm R5
50V
200Ω 100 %
Key=A
R3 4
800Ω
1
1100Ω