PHYSICS

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

Name: Gladwin Saijon

Class XII A
Roll no.
d
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks

and gratitude to my physics teacher Sasikala for her
invaluable guidance, constant encouragement, constructive
comments, sympathetic attitude and immense motivation,
which has sustained my efforts at all stages of this project
work. Her valuable advice and suggestions for the
corrections, modifications and improvement did enhance the
perfection in performing my job well.
INDEX

1. Introduction
2. Experiment
I. Theory
II. Apparatus required
III. Procedure
IV. Observation
V. Conclusion
VI. Precautions
3. Reference

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AIM OF THE PROJECT

TO LIGHT AN LED LAMP USING A

THERMISTOR (temperature sensor)

THERMISTOR
A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance is
dependent on temperature, more so than in standard
resistors. The word is the mix of thermal and resistor.
Thermistors are widely used as inrush current limiter,
temperature sensors (NTC type typically), self-resetting
overcurrent protectors, and self-regulating heating
elements.

An NTC Thermistor Themistor symbol for

circiuit diagram.
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HISTORY
The first NTC thermistor was discovered in 1833
by Michael Faraday, who reported on the semiconducting
behavior of silver sulfide.
Faraday noticed that the resistance of silversulfide
decreased dramatically as temperature increased. (This was
also the first documented observation of a semiconducting
material.) 
Because early thermistors were difficult to produce and
applications for the technology were limited, commercial
production of thermistors did not begin until the 1930s.
 A commercially viable thermistor was invented by Samuel
Ruben in 1930.

THEORY
BASIC CLASSIFICATION AND WORKING OF A
THERMISTOR

Assuming, as a first-order approximation, that the

relationship between resistance and temperature
is linear, then:

where
, change in resistance
, change in temperature
, first-order temperature coefficient of resistance
Thermistors can be classified into two types,
depending on the classification of  .
If   is positive, the resistance increases with
increasing temperature, and the device is called a
positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor,
or posistor.
If   is negative, the resistance decreases with
increasing temperature, and the device is called
a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor.
ADVANTAGES OF USING A THERMISTOR

Thermistors have some benefits over other kinds of temperature

sensors such as analog output chips (LM35/TMP36 ) or digital
temperature sensor chips (DS18B20) or thermocouples.

 First off, they are much much cheaper than all the above! A
bare 5% thermistor is only 10 cents in bulk.
 They are also much easier to waterproof since its just a
resistor.
 They work at any voltage (digital sensors require 3 or 5V
logic).
 Compared to a thermocouple, they don't require an
amplifier to read the minute voltages - you can use any
microcontroller to read a thermistor.
 They can also be incredibly accurate for the price. For
example, the 10K 1% thermistor in the shop is good for
measuring with ±0.25°C accuracy! (Assuming you have an
accurate enough analog converter)
 They are difficult to break or damage - they are much
simpler and more reliable
APPLICATIONS

PTC Thermistor

 As heater in automotive industry to provide

additional heat inside cabin with diesel engine or to
heat diesel in cold climatic conditions before engine
injection.
 In temperature compensated synthesizer voltage
controlled oscillators.[7]
 In lithium battery protection circuits.[8]
 In an electrically actuated Wax motor to provide the
heat necessary to expand the wax.

A C831 PTC thermistor

NTC Thermistor

 As resistance thermometers in low-temperature

measurements of the order of 10 K.
 As sensors in automotive applications to monitor
things like coolant or oil temperature inside the
engine, and provide data to the ECU and to the
dashboard.
 To monitor the temperature of an incubator.
 Thermistors are also commonly used in
modern digital thermostats and to monitor the
temperature of battery packs while charging.
 Thermistors are often used in the hot ends of 3D
printers; they monitor the heat produced and allow
the printer's control circuitry to keep a constant
temperature for melting the plastic filament.
 In the Food Handling and Processing industry,
especially for food storage systems and food
preparation. Maintaining the correct temperature is
critical to prevent food borne illness.
SOME NTC THERMISTORS
CONDUCTION MODEL

NTC

Many NTC thermistors are made from a pressed disc,

rod, plate, bead or cast chip
of semiconducting material such
as sintered metal oxides.
They work because raising the temperature of a
semiconductor increases the number of active charge
carriers - it promotes them into the conduction band.
The more charge carriers that are available, the
more current a material can conduct. In certain
materials like ferric oxide (Fe2O3) with titanium (Ti)
doping an n-type semiconductor is formed and the
charge carriers are electrons.
In materials such as nickel oxide (NiO) with lithium (Li)
doping a p-type semiconductor is created
where holes are the charge carriers.[4]
PTC

Most PTC thermistors are made from doped

polycrystalline ceramic (containing barium
titanate (BaTiO3) and other compounds) which have
the property that that their resistance rises suddenly at
a certain critical temperature.
Barium titanate is ferroelectric and its dielectric
constant varies with temperature.
Below the Curie point temperature, the high dielectric
constant prevents the formation of potential barriers
between the crystal grains, leading to a low resistance.
In this region the device has a small negative
temperature coefficient.
At the Curie point temperature, the dielectric constant
drops sufficiently to allow the formation of potential
barriers at the grain boundaries, and the resistance
increases sharply with temperature.

Working
NTC Thermistor
In NTC thermistor, when the temperature increases,
resistance decreases. Conversely, when temperature
decreases, resistance increases. Thus this type of
thermistor is used when we want to increase the
current in the circuit as the temperature is increased.
example: fire alarm.
PTC Themistor  
In PTC thermistor when the temperature increases
above some threshold value, resistance increases
drastically.
This type of thermistor is required when we want to
stop the flow current when temperature is high.
Example: Automatic cutoff system in electric
geysers.

APPARATUS REQUIRED
 1. A breadboard  
2. A thermistor(NTC)
 3. Two resistors
4. A transistor
 5. An LED  
6. Few connecting wires

PROCEDURE

1. Set up the breadboard on a stable surface.

2. Place the NTC thermistor on the breadboard. Connect one
leg of the thermistor to the base of the transistor.
3. Connect the other leg of the thermistor to Vcc
(positive/high voltage).
4. Ground the emitter of the transistor and one end of the
base resistor by connecting them to the ground
(negative/low voltage) rail on the breadboard.
 5. Connect the collector of the transistor to one leg of the
LED, and the other leg of the LED to Vcc through a current-
limiting resistor. The value of the current-limiting resistor
should be chosen based on the LED's forward voltage and
desired current.
6. Ensure that all the connections are secure and free from

loose wires or components.

OBSERVATION

The connections are made such that one

leg of the thermistor is connected to the base
of the transistor
and its other leg is connected to Vcc(positive/hi
gh  voltage).  The emitter of the transistor
and one end of the base resistor are grounded
(negative/low voltage).

When the surface of the
thermistor is exposed to
heat, the LED starts glowing. The LED turns OFF
the moment the
temperature of the thermistor falls
below the threshold value.

The circuit is designed such that the resistance
of the thermistor is inversely   proportional to the
base voltage.

OBSERVATION

The thermistor used is a negative temperature

coefficient (NTC) resistor. 

The reason LED glows is that

when the thermistor is heated, its
resistance decreases due to which the base
voltage   increases and point comes when the
base-‐emitter   junction is forward biased.
As a result the transistor
turns on and an output current flows from its co
llector to the emitter, making the LED glow.

CONCLUSION

1.The current flowing in the circuit is directly

proportional to the temperature of the
surrounding because we have used an NTC
thermistor in the circuit where the resistance
of thermistor is inversely proportional to the
surrounding temperature in which the
thermistor is kept.

2.Increase in base voltage results in the glow of

LED. To increase the base voltage we need to
use a variable resistor which can forward bias
 the base-emitter junction of the transistor to
initiate the flow of collector current which
makes LED glow. Thus we use NTC thermistor
to provide variable resistance.

PRECAUTIONS

1. All the circuitry connections should be tight.

2. While heating the thermistor with a matchstick or
a lighter make sure that it is not too close to the
sensor.
3. Heating of the sensor should not take place for a
long time.

REFERENCE

1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermistor

2. Google images
3. https://in.answers.yahoo.com/