Elements of Electronic SU ey and Measurement , Third EditionJOSEPH J. CARR Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement Third Edition PEARSON oerAuthorized adaptation from the’ United States edition, entitled Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement, 3rd Edition, \SBN: 9780133416862 by Carr, Joseph J., published by Pearson Education. Inc., Copyright © 1996 Indian Subcontinent Adaptation Copyright © 2008 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright ‘owner and above-mentioned publisher of this book. ISBN 978-81-317-1211-5 Firs: Impression Second Impression, 2009 This edition ts manufactured in India and is authorized for sale only in Indie, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Published by Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd., licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia. Head Office: 482 F.I.E., Patparganj, Delhi 110 092, India. Registered Office: 14 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India. Printed in India at Anand Sons.Brief Contents LI ei ict b 1 2 Some Basic Measurement Theory 26 3 _de and ac Deflection Meter Movements _ 45 4 BridgeCireuits 83 108 9 Signal Generators 205 10 Mechanical Graphics Chart Recorders 231 11 Special-Purpose Laboratory Amplifiers 255 12 Operational Amplifiers 266 “Transducers 14 _Probes and Connectors _328 15 Handling Signals, Sensors, and Instruments 345, 16_Data Converters _363 17 Testing ElectronicComponents __376 18 Measurement of Frequency and Time 388 19 Measurements on Untuned Amplifiers 426 20 Measurement on Tuned Circuits __442, 22_Radio Receiver Measurement and Alignment 483 23 Spectrum Analyzers 499. 24 Radio Transmitter Measurements _512 25 _IEBE-488 General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) Instruments 332 Index 541Contents 1-6 Units and Physical Constants 6 1-7 Whatis “Average”? 6 Integrated, Root Mean Square (rms), and Root Sum Squares (rss) Averages 11 1-8 Logarithmic Re tation: Decibels 14 184 ling It All Uj 15 rm 1-82 jing between dB Notation and Gain Notation 17 1-8-3 Special dB Scales _18 1-8-4 ‘dBmito Voltage 19 1-9 ‘The Basics of Measurement 20 Summary _23 Questions __24 Problems _24 Bibliography 25. 2 Some Basic Measurement Theory 26 241 Objectives 26 2 3 ms 2 2-4 Categories of Measurement 27 2-5 Factors in Making Measurements 28 “2-5-1 Error 28 25-2 Validity 30 2-5-3 Reliability and Repeatability 30 ‘2-8-4 Accuracy and Precision 30 a Ta 2-6 Measurement Errors 32 2-7 Categories of Errors 33 vii Copyrighted material27-3 amic Errors 35, 2-8 Dealing with Measurement Errors __37 2-9 Error Contributions Analysis 38 2-10 Operational Definitions in Measurement 39 2-Ml_ Afterword: Weighing aCow 40. a a Summary 42 Recapitulation 43 ‘Questions 43 Problems __44 ac Deflecti 4! 31 Objectives 45 33 The Basic Analog de Meter__46 3-5 The Tout Band Meter Moveme a 36 ‘Types of Analog Meters 49 3-7 Using Basicde Meters 50° 3-8 Obtaining Higher Current Scales 52 3-9 ___ Voltage Measurements from de Current Meters 56 £10 Voltmeter Sensitivity (6) 57 : 211 de Voltmeter Resistance 58 3412 Using Voltmeters "58 313-1 Ohmmeter Accuracy vs. Battery Aging 62 3:14 Analog Multimeters 62 : 31S Analog Alternating Current (ac) Deflection-Type Meters 63 316 Which ac Valueis Being Measured? 63 316-1 Form Factor (A) 66 3.17 Thermocouple ac Current Meters 66 3519 The Electrodynamometer ac Meter 67 3220_Iron-Vane Meter Movements 69 aot ieee : : 321-3 __ Effects of Waveform on Meter Readings _76 24 ; rms-Reading Rectifier Instruments 78 3-22 Other ac-Reading Instruments 78 Copyrighted materialCopyrighted materialContents 6&4 Binary Counters" 111 6S Decimal Counting Units (DCUs) _112 m3 splay Devices 113 83 The Cathode Ray Oscill 153 Copyrighted materialContents xi 89 Oscilloscope Specifications 169 S941 Sensitivity 169 8-9-2 Bandwidth 170 89-3 Rise Time 171 ; 8-9-4 Horizontal Si mM 95 Dube Mode a 8410, Oscilloscope Controls 174 810-1 ControlsGroup 174 S102 Vertical Group _ oe _ Horizontal Group _ $104 Trigger Group nm 811 Common Oscill > Probes 182 8-12" Making Measurements on the Oscill 185 SA3—Sirage Oadlospes —S ‘Ba Digiul ae ‘BS Medical Oscilloscopes __189 815-1 Nonfade Medical Oscill 190 816 _Delta-Timé (4-Time) Oscilloscopes 196 laces 8 8-18 Sampling Oscilk 198 #19 Z-Axis Modulaion 195 198 ‘Summary 200 : situation 200 Problems 202 Bibliography | 204 9 Signal Generators 205 Copyrighted material10:3 Mechanical Chart Recorders 231 104 of Mechanical Chart Recorders 232 10-42 PMMCWriting Systems 235 10-5 Recording Potentiometers and Servorecorders__239 Maintenance of PMMC Writing Styluses and Pens 246 fea Dot Matrix Analog Recorders 250 10-9 Laser and Dot Matrix ter Printers as Recorders 253 ‘Summary 253 Recapitulation _ 253 Questions 253 ions Bibliography 254 11._Special-Purpose Laboratory Amplifiers 255 11-1 Objectives 255 ‘U-3__ Basic Amplifiers_255. int Amplifier Classifications lifier Sy i 7 ine ‘Chopper Amplifiers 259 11-8 Lock-in Amplifiers 264 _ 12 Operational aoe 266 ie ives 266 23 “Operation yAmplifers: J ‘An Introduction 266 D4 of the Ideal 267, ‘IS Differential inputs 267 12-6 Analysis Using Kirchhoff’s and Ohm's Laws 268 Copyrighted materialContents 12-7 __Noninverting Followers 270 12-8 Operational Amplifier Power Supplies 272 1210 Differential Amplifiers. 275 12-11 Practical Circuit 279 12-12 IC Instrumentation Amplifiers. 279 12-13 Isolation Amplifiers 285 12-14 Differential Amplifier Applications 287 12-15 Integrators 288 1216 _ Differentiators 290 ‘12-17 __Logarithmic and Antilog Amplifiers__291 12-18 Current-1o-Voltage Converters. 294 Summary 295 Recapitulation 295 Questions 295 Problems 296 Bibliography 297 13 __Sensors, Electrodes, and Transducers _298 13-1___ Objectives 298 13-2 Self-Evaluation __298 13-3 _ Transducers and Transduction _208 13-4 The Wheatstone Bridge 299 15 StrainGages 299 13-6 _ Bonded and Unbonded Strain Gages _302 13-7 Strain Gage Circuitry 304 413-8 Transducer Sensitivity (/) _306 13-9 Balancing and Calibrating the Bridge 307 1310-Temperature Transducen 308 13-11 Thermistors 309 13:12 Thermocouples 311 13-13 Semiconductor Te ‘Transducers 311 13-14" Inductive Transducers 314 13-15 _ Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) 314 13-16 _ Position-Displacement Transducers__316 13-17 _ Velocity and Acceleration Transducers 318 13-18 _Tachometers _318 . 13-19 _ Force and Pressure Transducers _319 13-20 __ Fluid Pressure Transducers __320 13-21 Light Transducers 322 13-22 Capacitive Transducers 323 Summary 325 Recapitulation 325 Questions 32514-5 Shielded Cables 331 14-6 Connectors 332 14-7 Problems with Shielded Cables 333. 14-8 Low-Capacitance Probes__335 14-9 Proper Probe Use 336 14-10 High-Voltage Probes 338 14-12 __ Special Probes forICs __339 14-13 Current Probes _34] Summary 343 Recapitulation 343 Questions 343 Problems 344 15__Handling Signals, Sensors, and Instruments __345 15-1 Objectives 345 15-3 Problems in Signal Acquisition 345 15-3-1 Creating Valid Signals from Common Mode Interference 347 15-4 Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Suppression 350 15-41 Intermodulation Problems 350 15-42 Some Solutions 354 15-43 Dealing with TVI/BCI 357 15-444 Measuri juipment and EMI 359 Summary. 361 Recapitulation 361 Questions 361 Problems 362 16-5 Servo ADC Circuits 369Contents xv 16-6 — Successive Approximation (SA) ADC Circuits 370 16-7 ___ Parallel Converters _372 16-8 _ Voltago-to-Frequency Converters 372 Summary 374 Recapitulation 374 Questions 374 ‘Problems 374 Bibliography 375 17_Testing Electronic Components 376 17-1 __ Objectives 376 ‘17-2 Self-Evaluation 376 17-3 ing Ci 376 174 __ Sit Semiconductor Tests 377 17-5 Transistor Testers 379 17-6 _ Checking Capacitors 383 17=7__ Testing Capacitors with an Ohmmeter 384 17-8 Testing Capacitors with a Voltmeter 384 17-9 Measuring Capacitance 385 Summary 387 jitulation _387 Questions 387 Problems 387 18 Measurement of Frequency and Time 388 Bel Objectives 388 18-2 Self-Evalvation _388 18-3 Frequency and Time 388 18-4 Period Measurement 390 Frequency Measurement 390 Rough Frequency Measurements 391 Absorption Wavemeters 393 Lecher Wires 396 Slotted Line Measurements 399 ‘National Institute of Standards and ‘Technology (NIST) Radio Broadcast Time/Frequency Sewvices 400 18-10-1 NIST Radio Stations WWV. WWVH and WWVB = 400. 1810-2 BCD Coded Signals on WWV and WWVH 406 1810-3 Geophysical Services from WWV and WWVH 406 18-10-4 Using WWV and WWVH Broadcasts for Frequency Measurement 408 1810-5 ‘The VLF (60-kHz) WWVB Broadcasts 409 18-10-6 WWVBComparator Receivers 410 18-11 Atomic Frequency and Time Standards 413 1812 Basic Meters 413 FEEEETxvi Contents 18-13 _Using Frequency Meters__415 18-14 Using Frequency Counters___415 18-15 Transfer Oscillators 416 18-16 Crystal Marker Oscillators 419 ‘Self-Evaluation 426 ‘Untuned Amplifiers 426 Converting to Decibel (dB) Notation 427 ‘Special dB-Based Scales 428 Input Offset Voltage 439 Summary 440 Recapitulation 440 FEEREEEREEREERERE | Questions 440 Problems 441 20_Measurement on Tuned Circuits 44221 ibanarhinciat 21-5 ___ Antenna System Measurements _ 455 21-6 _Antennalmpedance _ 456 21-7 Standing Waves and SWR__ 456 21-8 MeasuringSWR__459 21-9 SWR Meters 460 21-10 Using Power Meters to Measure SWR__462 21-11 Antenna Brid; 463 21-12 Noise Bridges 466 21-13 Finding an Antenna’s Resonant Frequency 467 21-14 Finding 4/2 Length of Coaxial Cable 468, 21-15 _ Using the Noise Bridge to Find the Velocity Factor of Coaxial Cable 468 21-16 Sweep Techniques 469 21-17 Time Domain Reflectomery _ 469 21=18 Polar Patterns 474 21-19 Antenna Gain 475 22_Radio Receiver Measurement and Alignment 483 D-1__ Objectives 483 ea Tee 5 22-3 Receiver Basics. 483 22-4 Receiver Parameters 485 2-5 Measuring Sensitivity 485 22-6 Audio Power Method 486 22-7 _ The Quieting Method 487 2-8 Selectivity Measurement 488 22-9 SweepMethod 489 22-10 Image Response 489 2-ll AMAlignment 491 22-12 _ FM Receiver Alignment __ 492 22-13 Sweep Alignment 494 22-14 Nonswept Alignment 496 22-15 _Dual-Sweep Alignment 497 Summary 497 Recapitulation 497 Copyrighted material23. Spectrum Analyzers 499 24 jectives 499 23-2 Self-Evaluation __499 23-3 Spectrum Analyzers 499 BH Basics of Spectrum Analyzers 500 23-5 Low-Cost Spectrum Analyzers 501 23-6 Spectrum Analyzer Experiments with Low-Cost Components. 503 23-7 Spectrum Analysis Software 507 237-1 Display Examples 508 Summary 510 Recapitulation 510 Questions S11 Problems SII 2A. Radio Transm U-1__Objectives 512 24-2 Self-Evaluation 512 24-3 ‘Transmitter Measurements 512 24-4 RF Power Measurements _513 24-5 Thermal Method _515 24-6 _ Thruline®* Wattmeters__518 24-7 Dummy Loads 522 24-8 — Modulation Measurements 522 24-9 FM Deviation Meters 522 24-10. AM Measurements 524 24-11 SSB Measurements 526 24-12 Communications Monitors 528 Summary 530 Recapitulation $30 Questions §— 530 Problems 531 25 _IEEE-488 General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) Instruments $32 25-1___ Objectives __532 25-2 Self-Evaluation _532Introduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement OBJECTIVES Understand variation and its effect on measurement. Be able to recognize and correctly use significant figures. Understand and be able to use decibel notation in systems calculations. Be able to use scientific notation. Be able to explain the differences among the following “averages” of a data set: mean, median, mode, harmonic average, root mean square (rms), and root of the sum of squares (rss). veers SELF-EVALUATION Before studying the material in this chapter, try to answer the questions given below. These questions test your knowledge of the subject. If you cannot answer a particular question, then look for the answer as you read the text. 1 is the square root of the variance of a data set. 2. The number of significant figures in a measurement can be increased by multiplying the result by another measured value. True or false? 3. Express 0.0000000826 A in scientific notation. 4, Name four different measures of the “average” of a data set. INTRODUCTION The British physicist and mathematician William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), reportedly said that one cannot really claim to know much about a thing until one can measure it. Much of the history of science and engineering in general, and of electronics in particular, has been involved in measuring things. Whether a measurement is made in order4 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement to troubleshoot an existing circuit, to characterize and define a new circuit, or to find the value of some nonelectronic physical variable (¢.g., pressure or temperature), the common thread is the need for using some electronic device to make a measurement. In this book you will learn about electronic measurement devices. Although the entire universe of possible electronic measurement devices could never be included in a single text, or indeed a shelf full of texts, we will discuss the generic types used in a wide variety of applications. You will also learn about the theory of measurement. While in the naive sense it is possible to measure a voltage and use the information gained for some particular purpose, without knowing much about measurement theory, there comes a point when it becomes necessary to understand a little of what you are doing in order to gain the maximum utility from your practical measurements. Before beginning our discussions, however, some readers may wish to undertake the quick review of some arithmetic basics found in the remainder of this chapter. For some people this material is simple; for others itis new; and for still others itis a needed refresher. If you feel no need for the material in the following sections, then please feel free to skip ahead to the next chapter. Although a knowledge of calculus is not strictly needed, it would be helpful to understand the basic concepts, at least in a descriptive sense, For those readers who have not had an introductory course in calculus, a quick overviewor the basic principles is provided in Appendix A. SIGNIFICANT FIGURES Much of our everyday experience deals with exact numbers of things: 6 stamps, 7.50 dollars, and 7 people. These items can be counted and an exact numerical representation provided; all figures are significant in such cases, But in other situations, you may take measurements that are subject to errors. For example, you might measure the height of a person as 67, 68, or 69 in, depending on how straight the person stands. Or what about the answer you give when asked a person's weight? The scale may register 162 Ib, but one of the balance Weights may not be perfect, or perhaps the scale dial at rest sticks a little off zero. How many people do you know who own a perfectly accurate watch that never needs to be reset? None! These flaws are implicitly resolved when we apply the concept of significant figures to the measurements. This concept demands that we impute no more precision or accuracy to a measurement or calculation than the natural physical reality of the situation permits. ‘The counting numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) are always significant. Zero (0) is significant only if it is used to indicate exactly zero, or a truly null case. Zero is not significant if it is used merely as a place holder to make the numbers look nicer on the printed page. For example, if “0.60” is properly written, then it means exactly 6/10, not “approximately 0.6”; the zero used here in the hundredths place is significant. If the number written “0.6,” then we may assume that it means 6/10 plus or minus some amount of either error or uncertainty. When we use numbers to indicate a quantity, the concept of significant figures becomes. important. For example, “16 gal” has two significant figures but can reasonably be taken to mean that the quantity of liquid is somewhere between 15 and 17 gal. But if our liquid- measuring device is better, then we might write “16.0 gal” to indicate precisely 16 gal plusIntroduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 3 or minus a very small error; that is, perhaps the real value is between 15.9 and 16.1 gal. Consider a pressure gage that is guaranteed to an accuracy of 5%. A reading of “100 torr” has three figures, meaning that the actual pressure is between [100 — 5%] and [100 + 59%], 0r 95 to 105 torr (two significant figures). Consider a practical measurement situation. An experiment uses a digital voltmeter to measure an electrical potential difference of exactly 15 V. The instrument reads from 00.00 to 19.99 V, with an accuracy of 1%. In addition, digital voltmeters typically have a +1-digit error in the least significant position due to their design: this problem is called last digit bobble. For the digital voltmeter in question, 19.99 Most significant digit —t LL Least significant digit The “last digit bobble” problem means that a reading of 15.00 V could represent any value between 15,00 — 00.01 (14.99) V and 15.00 + 00.01 (15.01) V. In addition, the error of 1% means that the actual voltage could be + (15 x 0.01) = + 0.15 V. Thus, the actual voltage could be from (15.00 — 0.15) V to (15.00 + 0.15) V, or a range of +14.84 to +15.16V. If both errors are minus, Reading: 15.00 V -0.01V -0.15V 14.84 V__ (worst case) or, if both errors are positive, Reading: 15.00 V +0.15 V +0.01 V 15.16 V (worst case) Significant figure errors are propagated in calculations. A rule to remember is that the number of significant figures is not improved by combining the numbers with other numbers. For example, multiplying a significant digit by a nonsignificant digit yields a result that has at least one nonsignificant digit. Often the number of significant figures decreases in calculation. Suppose we measure a voltage V as 15.65 V and a current / in the ‘same electrical circuit as 0.025 A. The power P is the product V/. Let's find that product,15 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement placing a little hat (") over each digit that is not significant, and then carry that notation down wherever a nonsignificant digit is a factor with another digit: 15. 00.36158 ‘As can be scen, only the 3 and one of the leading zeros are significant. Thus, we are claiming more precision than is truly available if we list the power as “0.39 W” when the 9 is not significant. We might be better advised to list this value as “0.4 W.” ‘The reason why scientists and engineers make such a fuss over significant figures is that it is bad form, and potentially dangerous under some circumstances, to claim more precision or accuracy than is truly the case. For this reason, we typically limit figures to the number of decimal places for which a reasonable expectation of physical reality obtains. Significant figure rules were perhaps a little easier to understand and use in the days when scientists and engineers calculated on slide rules. Those tools were limited to two or three digits, so one was less tempted to write down a very long number. But in this age of $12, 10-digit scientific pocket calculators, and the nearly universal distribution of personal computers, the distinction often gets lost. Consider a simple electrical problem as an example. One expression of Ohm’s law states that the current J flowing in a circuit is the quotient of the voltage V and the resistance R. Suppose that 10 V is applied to a 3-2 resistance. According to my $12 pocket scientific calculator, the current is 10 V/3 2 = 3.333333333 A. Does anyone really think that their ordinary, run-of-the-mill, laboratory ammeter can measure to within 10-° A (ie., 3.33 nA)? In most cases we would be exag- gerating to claim more than 3,33 or 3.333 A (at most) with very high quality meters with recent calibration stickers on them! Indeed, on most lower-quality instruments, “3” or “3.3” would be a more reasonable statement of the current reading. Being mindful of significant figures is a key factor in making good electronic measure- ‘ments and maintaining the integrity and credibility of the measurement system. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION ‘Scientific notation is a simple arithmetic shorthand that allows one to deal with very large or very small numbers using only a few digits between | and 10 and using powers-of-10 exponents. The form of a number in scientific notation is cc naj x10" niet, beneIntroduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 5 For example, if the age of a college physics professor is 47 years, it could be written Prof’s age = 4.7 x 10! years (1-1) (Note the units “years” in this equation. The specification of a value is never complete if the units are not included; “47” or “4.7 x10!” is not the same as “47 years” or “4.7 x 10! years.” The only exception occurs when the quantity is nondimensional.) ‘When the exponent is negative, it is the same as saying 1/10*. In other words, 1 lot =a (1-2) ‘Some of the standard values in powers-of- 1 notation, along with their respective prefixes for use with units, are as follows: 1/1,000,000,000 = 0.000000001 = 10- (nano) 1/1,000,000 == — 0.000001 = 10-* (micro) 1/100,000 0.00001 = 10-5 1/10,000 0.0001 = 10-4 1/1,000 0.001 = 10-7 (milli) 1/100 0.01 = 107? (centi) 1/10 0.10 = 10"! (deci) 10 10° 10 10! (deka) 100 10? (hecto) 1,000 10° (kilo) 10,000 10* 100,000 = 108 1,000,000 106 — (mega) 1,000,000,000 10° (giga)* Scientific notation is especially appealing when dealing with numbers for which there are reasonably only a few significant figures. For example, if we measure a human brain wave scalp surface potential’ as 143.6 .V (microvolts), we may prefer to represent that value as 1.44 x 10-4 V. The prefixes above are used to subdivide units, For example, milli means 1/1000 (or 0.001), so a millimeter is 0.001 m, and a milliampere is 0.001 A. Similarly, kilo means 1000, soa kilometer is 1000 m, and a kilohertz is 1000 Hz. * 1,000,000,000 (10°) is called “1 bill in the United States, but “1000 million” in the United Kingdom and in ‘most of the rest of the world. The term milliard was once applied to 10°. To be 1 billion outside the United States, the number would have to be 1,000,000,000,000 (10!2), Perhaps we should label 10!? billiards so that Carl Sagan a | go on TV and talk about “billiards and billiards of worlds.” Electroencephalogram (EEG)14 17 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement TABLE 1-1 va SUEn nnn Pa Metric prefixes — — Symbol tera 19? T giga 10? G mega 10° M kilo 10? k hecto 10? h deka 10! da deci 107! d centi 107? c milli 10-3 m micro 10-6 u nano 10-9 a pico 10-2 P femo 10~ f ato 10-18 a UNITS AND PHYSICAL CONSTANTS In accordance with standard engineering and scientific practice, all units in this text will be in either the CGS (centimeter-gram-second) or the MKS (meter-kilogram-second) sys- tems unless otherwise specified. Because the so-called metric (CGS and MKS) system* depends upon attaching appropriate prefixes to the basic units, the common metric pre- fixes are listed in Table 1-1. Other tables are as follows: Table 1-2 gives the standard physical units; Table 1-3 shows physical constants of interest, including those used in problems in this and other chapters: and Table 1-4 lists some common conversion factors. WHAT IS “AVERAGE”? n't average just, well, average?” That's a common question, and the answer is not always so obvious as it might seem. There are several different kinds of “average,” and all of them are valid in the right situations. The word average refers to the most typical value, ot most expected value, in a collection of numerical data. When you collect data, there are a number of ways that the results can vary from one observation to another (even when conditions are supposed to be the same). First, of course, there is old-fashioned measurement and observational error. Not all rulers are truly the same, and not all applications of the same ruler to the same object turn ‘out the same. Nor is it probable that even the same pair of perfect eyes will correctly read the scale every time a measurement is taken. In short, there will always be some variability in the measurements from one trial to another. + Properly known asthe International System of Units (or Sysitme intemational d’unités, abbreviated internation ally as “SI").Introduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 7 ‘TABLE 1-2 Physical units ‘Quantity Unit ‘Symbol Capacitance farad F Electric charge coulomb c Conductance mhos B Conductivity mhosimeter Bin Current ampere A Energy Joule (watt-second) J0W-s) Field volts/meter Vin Fux linkage weber (volt-second) Wo (v's) Frequency hertz Hz Inductance henry H Length meter m Mass gram g Power watt w Resistance ohm 2 Time second, s Velocity meterisecond ms Electric potential volt v TABLE 1-3 Physical constants Constant Value ‘Symbol Boltzmann's constant 1.38 x 10723 JK K Electric charge (e~) 16x 10-9 C 4 Electron (volt) 1.6 x 107! 5 ev Electron (mass) 9.12 « 1073! kg m Permeability of free space 4x x 10-7 Him Uo Permittivity of free space 8.85 x 107!2 F/m £0 Planck's constant 6.626 x 107 J-s h Velocity of electromagnetic waves 3 x 108 m/s © Bi 3.141592654 x Next, there will be some actual variability in the events being recorded. Natural phe- nomena do, in fact, vary for one reason or another. One way to handle these variations is to find the most typical value for the lot. Consider the case where a student observed a red berry bush over a period of time. At one point, the observer counted 28 bunches of berries and found that there were from 1 to 8 berries in the different bunches. What does “average” mean in this case? ‘There are actually several differentkinds of averages, but the most commonly encountered are the arithmetic mean (usually called simply the mean), the median, and the mode. ‘These are each a little different from the others, and all of them are correct “averages” whenElements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement TABLE 1-4 ‘Common conversion iin = 2.54cm factors lin = 254mm ft = 0305m Imi = L61km Inauticalmi = =~ 6080 ft 1 statute mi = 520% Imi = 254x10-Sm tke = 22Ib I neper (Np) = 8.686 dB 1 gauss 10,000 teslas (T) used in the right context. Let's look at these terms a little more closely, using the following data values: Data Values 46553643345 316 52523445778 465 The arithmetic mean is the type of average that most people use day to day. The mean is the sum of all values, divided by the number n of different values, or, to put it in proper form, a Mit Mat Kate + Xn (1-3) n ‘The sum of all the 28 values is 125, so what is the “average”? 125 2 = 4.46 14 7 a) ‘The mean is 4.46, although you shouldn’t expect to find that “0.46” berry anyplace. This average is the arithmetic mean, ‘The median is another type of average: it is the middle value in the data set, that is, the value where exactly half of the values are above it and half are below it. In the present case there are 28 values, which is an even number, so the median will be midway between two of them (with 14 above and 14 below). Figure I-1 shows the data distribution and is a crude kind of bar graph. Count the Xs in each category from one end to the middle and then from the other end. Note that there are 14 values between 0 and 4, and 14 values from 5 to 9. Thus, the median value will be halfway between 4 and 5, or 4.5. If there were an odd number of data points, then the middle point—the median—would be the actual data point that had an equal number of points above it and below it. ‘The mode is also an average of sorts and is defined as the most frequently occurring value in a data set. The mode of the above data is easily seen in the X chart of Fig. 1-1. There were more bunches with 5 berries than any other number, so that’s the mode. So,Introduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 9 FIGURE 1-1 Data distribution (X chart) for 28 data values. now we have an arithmetic mean of 4.46, a median of 4.5, and a mode of 5... . and they're all the average of the same data set depending on how you define average. Different averages are used for different situations. If the data are perfectly symmet- rical, then the mean, median, and mode are the same number. In fact, that's nearly the case in the data above. If the mean, median, and mode are not the same, then the data are not symmetrical around the mean ... and the difference is a test of that sym- metry. In berry-bush data, the distribution is nearly symmetrical, so the mean could be used. But there are other situations where the mean is not terribly useful, especially if ‘one or two data points have very large or very small values compared with the rest of the data. ‘The mean is best used when the data are symmetrical; the median is often used when the data are highly asymmetrical due to outliers; and the mode is used to answer questions such as “What is the most common cause of death?” or “What is the most popular TV show on. Friday night?” What other averages are there? There's the geometric mean and the harmonic mean. The geometric mean is often used when the data are not very symmetrical, especially in biological studies. Suppose that you have $48 to spend, and you spend one-half of your available money each day for 5 days. The data would tabulate as follows: Day Amount 1 $48 2 24 3 12 4 6 5 310 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement ‘The arithmetic mean is 5 so If we graph these values as shown in Fig. 1-2(a), the line connecting the tops of the bar ‘graphs is not straight. To find the geometric mean, we need to find the logarithm of each value, add these log values, and take the logarithmic mean. Then we take the antilog of the log-mean, The log-mean is log 48 + log 24+ log 12 +1og6 + log3 3 _ 168+ 1.38-+ 1.08 + 0.778 +.0.477 ~ 5 _ 5.395 Ss = 1.079 Now take the antilog of the answer: Jog™!(1.079) = 11.99 ‘The logarithmic chart shown in Fig. 1-2(a) isnota straight line. If we want to straighten out that line, we use semilog paper as shown in Fig. 1~2(b). The other mean—the harmonic mean—is a bit more complicated and is used when data are expressed in ratios, such as miles per hour, dollars per dozen, and so forth. The expression for harmonic mean reflects the fact that it is the reciprocal of the mean of the reciprocals of the data: HM. a-s) For example, let’s compare the price of eggs in the local store over one past month: Week Price ($/dz) 1 $2.29 2 1.98 3 1.56 4 2.04Introduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 11 50. 50. 40 » 40, = : t ig jx i BS s 6 |» Media j ‘ 3 ‘Geometric 2 ° 1 2 3 4 0 Day 5 ) @) FIGURE 1-2 (@) Linear graph of data, (b) semi-logarithmic graph of same data. The arithmetic mean is $2.29 + $1.98 + $1.56 +$2.04 _ $7.87 4 “4 = $1.9675 ~ $1.97 But the harmonic mean is HM. = _ 1 ~ (= + 0.505 +0.641 + 0380) 4 2073 1 = tie = $1.929 = $1.93 1-71 Integrated, Root Mean Square (rms), and Root Sum ‘Squares (rss) Averages Other “averages” are sometimes used in science, engineering, and technology: integrated average, root mean square (rms), and root sum squares (rss).12 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement FIGURE 1-3 y Integrated average. S$ Volts ‘The integrated average is the area under the curve of the function (Fig. 1-3), divided by the segment of the range over which the average is taken: - 2 x=a Xd 1-6) Thi ‘ ‘The integrated average is often found in electronic circuits where either an RC low-pass filter oran RC operational amplifier circuit called a Miller integrator (see Appendix A) is used, and where the filter has an RC product much greater than the period of the applied input waveform, The output of the circuit is proportional to the time average of the input signal. The root mean square (rms) value is used extensively in electrical circuits and certain other technologies. For example, sine wave alternating current (ac) wave may be compared with the direct current (dc) voltage level that will produce the same amount of heating in an electrical resistance. The value of the ac wave that is the dc heating equivalent is the root ‘mean square (rms) value. The definition of rms is a (vinPdr (I-7) Vems where Vins = the rms value T =the time interval 1110 12 (1) =a time-varying voltage function For the special case of the sine wave, the rms value of voltage is V,/~/2, or 0.707 Vp, where V, is the peak voltage (see Fig. 1"4). For wave shapes other than sinusoidal, however, Equation (17) will evaluate differently. The root sum squares (rss) is used in cases where different data are combined to form a single number, even though the data are in no way correlated with one another. For example, noise signals in electronic circuits are errors and come from several different sources. Suppose we have n independent noise voltage sources (vm, um, ..., t”,). WhereIntroduction to Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement 13 FIGURE 1-4 Peak value ofa sine wave voltage. these sources are truly independent of each other, they cannot be simply combined in a linear additive manner but rather must be combined using the rss method: Lon? (1-8) Voss = V(umy)? + (un2)? + (v3)? +++ + (vn)? (-9) The rss method is sometimes used to define a single-valued error term from a number of uncorrelated error terms or, alternatively, to find a single standard error of a number of measurements of the same value. Voss Example 1-1 An electronic amplifier circuit contains five independent noise sources that produce the following decorrelated noise signal voltage levels: VNi = 25 nanovolts (nV), VNz = 56 nV, VN3 = —33 nV, VNg = —10 nV and VNs = 62 nV. What is the rss value of a composite noise signal? Solution Ves = V(VN1)? + (VN2)2 + (VN3)2 + (VNa)? + (VN5)? nV = V(25)? + (56)? + (—33)? + (—10)? + (62)? nV4 1-8 Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement = VO2S +3136 + 1089 + 100 + 3844 nV = 48794 = 93.8 nV Note that the rss value is not the same as the summation of the components. Although itis common in measurement, and in science experiments in general, to quote the “average” value of the data acquired, you must be careful to use the correct average (or ‘most reasonable average) and to correctly interpret what “average” means in the context of the experiment. LOGARITHMIC REPRESENTATION: DECIBELS ‘The subject of decibels frequently confuses newcomers to electronics, and even many old- timers seem to have occasional memory lapses regarding the subject. For the benefit of both groups, and because the subject is so vitally important to understanding measurement systems, we will review the decibel. The decibel measurement originated in the telephone industry and was named after telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The original unit was the “bel.”” The prefix “deci” means 1/10. so the “decibel” is one-tenth of a bel. The bel is too large for most common applications, so it is rarely if ever used. Thus, we will concentrate only on the more familiar decibel. The decibel (4B) is simply a means of logarithmically expressing the ratio between two signal levels, for example, the “output over input” signal ratio (ic., “gain”) of an amplifier. Because the decibel isa ratio, itis also dimensionless, despite the fact that “dB” looks like a dimension to some people. Consider the voltage amplifier as an example of dimensionless gain; its gain is expressed as the output voltage over the input voltage (Vo/Vin). It is dimensionless because the units are V/V, which “cancel out.” Example 1-2 A voltage amplifier outputs 6 V when the input signal has a potential of 0.5 V. Find the voltage gain (Ay). Solution ‘Note that the “volts” units appeared in both numerator and denominator, sothey “canceled out,” leaving only a dimensionless “12” behind.