What is the difference between Rheostat and Potentiometer? - ProProfs Discuss
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What is the difference between Rheostat and Potentiometer?

Asked by Marlon , Last updated: Mar 27, 2024

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2 Answers

Margot

Margot

Just getting better day by day

Margot
Margot , Writer, High School, Toronto

Answered Jun 02, 2020

Potentiometer and rheostats are two kinds of instruments that are used for different purposes. A potentiometer is a register that has three terminals to it. A rheostat can also be used for this purpose, but a rheostat will have a different current. The main purpose of a potentiometer is to measure a force that is electromotive. It does so by having the potential difference balanced. This difference will go through variable resistance, which is current. Rheostats control the current. They do so by changing the resistance of the current. They are also made different. Rheostats are made from materials that are polarized, while potentiometers are made from components that are resistive.
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F. Lopez

F. Lopez

F. Lopez
F. Lopez

Answered May 20, 2020

A potentiometer is a three-terminal variable register. A potentiometer can be utilized as a rheostat, but a rheostat is used to vary current. A potentiometer is an instrument used for measuring an electromotive force. This measurement is done by balancing it against the potential difference and bypassing a known current through a known variable resistance.

A rheostat, on the other hand, is an electrical instrument used to control the current by changing the resistance. A potentiometer is a resistor with three terminal and sliding contact with an adjustable voltage divider.

Rheostats are made of many polarized materials, such as metal, ribbons, fluids, and carbon disks. They are not separated so that they can operate in reverse. Potentiometer, on the other hand, is made with a resistive component, typically graphite, which is formed into an arc.

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