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What are Transducers?

Brendan McGuigan
Brendan McGuigan

Transducers are electric or electronic devices that transform energy from one form to another. For example, a stereo speaker converts the electrical signals of recorded music into sound. Many people think of a transducer as being a complicated, technical device designed to gather or transfer information. In reality, however, anything that converts energy can be considered a transducer.

Sensors and Actuators

Stereo speakers are a type of transducer.
Stereo speakers are a type of transducer.

There are many different types of transducers, but at their most basic, they can be divided into two groups: input (sensor) and output (actuator). Input transducers take some sort of physical energy — such as sound waves, temperature, or pressure — and converts it into a signal that can be read. A microphone, for example, converts sound waves that strike its diaphragm into an electrical signal that can be transmitted over wires. A pressure sensor turns the physical force being exerted on it into a number or reading that can be easily understood.

Ultrasound imaging relies on transducers to convert sound energy into electrical pulses.
Ultrasound imaging relies on transducers to convert sound energy into electrical pulses.

Actuators take an electronic signal and convert it into physical energy. A stereo speaker works by transforming the electronic signal of a recording into physical sound waves. Electric motors are another common form of electromechanical transducer, converting electrical energy into mechanical energy to perform a task.

Combining Transducers

Many devices work by combining sensors and actuators to convert energy from one form to another and then back again. Audio cassettes, for example, are created by using a transducer to turn the electrical signal from the microphone pick-up — which converted the sound waves into an electrical signal — into magnetic fluctuations on the tape head. These magnetic fluctuations are then read and converted by another transducer — in this case, the stereo system — to be turned back into an electrical signal. This signal is then fed by wire to speakers, which turn the electrical signal back into audio waves.

Piezoelectric transducers are used in many field radios and microphones because they can convert electricity into mechanical action and vice versa.
Piezoelectric transducers are used in many field radios and microphones because they can convert electricity into mechanical action and vice versa.

Ultrasound imaging also works by converting energy multiple times. A piezoelectric transducer is used to convert electricity into high frequency sound waves (ultrasound), which are focused by the machine and aimed at body tissues. These waves bounce back to the machine, where a transducer converts them into electrical signals again. The signals are processed and sent to a monitor to produce an image of the body tissues.

Many types of electric starters use piezoelectric transducers.
Many types of electric starters use piezoelectric transducers.

Other everyday tasks are possible through the use of energy that is transformed multiple times. Turning on an electric light requires electrical energy to be converted into visible light. That electrical energy first had to be generated, however; an electrical generator is a type of transducer that turns mechanical (or kinetic) energy into electricity that can then be used by other devices.

Efficiency

Audio cassettes are created by using a transducer to turn the electrical signal from the microphone pick-up into magnetic fluctuations on the tape head.
Audio cassettes are created by using a transducer to turn the electrical signal from the microphone pick-up into magnetic fluctuations on the tape head.

As in all energy conversions, some energy is lost when transducers operate, but some are more efficient than others. A radio antenna, which turns radio frequency power into an electromagnetic field, is one example of an efficient transducer. When the antenna is operating well, this process can be more than 80% efficient. Most electrical motors, by contrast, are less than 50% efficient, while regular incandescent light bulbs, because of the amount of energy that is lost as heat, are less than 10% efficient.

Discussion Comments

anon317037

What is the difference between a transducer and an inverse transducer?

anon290062

A power factor transducer is converting which form of energy into which form?

anon260718

I need a transducer that I can pass a welding cable through, which will switch 12v dc input to 12v output.

-- dougie.

anon170375

what is a temperature transducer?

anon156228

i want to put my normal headset microphone wire in series with an led on a bread board. will it work? or do i have to go for a mic which requires power supply? can't my mic produce acoustics to analog signal directly when i speak into it? Reply ASAP, please.

anon145188

what are pressure sensors and how do pressure sensors connects with the transducers?

anon101571

From what energy to what energy does a keyboard convert?

anon55024

what is a fluid flow transducer?

rramkumar123

what is radio antenna in transducer?

anon38554

what is the transducer in antenna?

anon38008

What are the factors taken into consideration while selecting a transducer?

anon31658

Capacitive transducers are working on the principle that of the capacitance.

anon10630

what is a capacitive transducer??

anon7083

what is a linear transducer?

Nader1403

What are the different transducer types? What are applications of these types?

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    • Stereo speakers are a type of transducer.
      By: efired
      Stereo speakers are a type of transducer.
    • Ultrasound imaging relies on transducers to convert sound energy into electrical pulses.
      By: Konstantin Li
      Ultrasound imaging relies on transducers to convert sound energy into electrical pulses.
    • Piezoelectric transducers are used in many field radios and microphones because they can convert electricity into mechanical action and vice versa.
      By: Maya Kruchancova
      Piezoelectric transducers are used in many field radios and microphones because they can convert electricity into mechanical action and vice versa.
    • Many types of electric starters use piezoelectric transducers.
      By: Maksim Kostenko
      Many types of electric starters use piezoelectric transducers.
    • Audio cassettes are created by using a transducer to turn the electrical signal from the microphone pick-up into magnetic fluctuations on the tape head.
      By: Oleksiy Mark
      Audio cassettes are created by using a transducer to turn the electrical signal from the microphone pick-up into magnetic fluctuations on the tape head.