EXPERIMENT – 9

OBJECTIVE:
Calibrate an ammeter using D.C slide wire potentiometer.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:
1. Potentiometer - 1
2. Battery - 2
3. Ammeter - 1
4. 1Ω resistance - 1
5. Connecting wires - as per requirement
6. Rheostats - 2

CIRCUIT / BLOCK DIAGRAM:

THEORY & FORMULA USED:

Ammeters-
Analog ammeter differences in their operating principles. The action of all ammeters and voltmeters, with
the exception of electrostatic type of instruments, depends upon a deflecting torque produced by an electric
current. In an ammeter this torque is produced by current to be measured or by a definite fraction of it. In a
voltmeter this torque is produced by a current which is proportional to the voltage to be measured. Thus all
voltmeters and ammeters are essentially current measuring devices.
Potentiometer-
A potentiometer is an Instrument designed to measure an unknown voltage by comparing it with a known
voltage. The known voltage may be supplied by a standard cell or any other known voltage-reference
source. Measurements using comparison methods are capable of a high degree of accuracy because the
result obtained does not depend upon the actual deflection of a pointer, as is the case in deflectional
methods, but only upon the accuracy with which the voltage of the reference source is known.
Another advantage of the potentiometers is that since a potentiometer makes
use of a balancer bull condition, no current flow and hence no power is consumed in the circuit contain the
unknown emf when the instrument is balanced. Thus the determination of voltage by a potentiometer is
quite independent of the source resistance.
Let L1 be the balancing length of potentiometer wire, when emf ‘E’ of the battery is balanced on it. Then we
have
E = L1 . X

Where ‘X’ is the potential gradient along the

potentiometer wire.
E
⸫ X=
L1
- Eq. 1

Let L2 be the balancing length of potentiometer wire, where potential difference ‘V2’ across resistance ‘R’
between ‘M’ and ‘N’ is balanced on it. Then we have
V2 = X.L2
- Eq. 2

From Eq. 1 and Eq. 2, we have

L2
V2= E
L1
- Eq. 3
I2 = V 2
- Eq. 4

From Eq. 3 and Eq. 4, we have

L2
I2= E
L1
- Eq. 5
Where,
I2 = Current as measured by potentiometer when R=1Ω
I = Current as measured by ammeter.
E = Emf of battery.
L1 = Balancing length for battery.
 L2 = Balancing length of 1Ω resistance.
Error = I1 – I2

OBSERVATION TABLE:

Sl. No. Balancing Balancing P.D across Actual Observed Error

length length across 1Ω current in A current in ( I1 – I2 )
( L1 ) 1Ω ( V2 ) ( I2 ) ammeter
( L2 ) ( I1 )
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.
GRAPH:

For Reference Only.

Calibration Curve
12

10

8
Error ( I1 - I2 )

Ammeter Reading ( I2 )

RESULT:
Thus we calibrated the ammeter using D.C slide wire potentiometer.