Certificate
This is hereby to certify that original and genuine investigation work has
been carried out about the subject matter and the related data collection
and investigation has been solely and sincerely done by
______________, a student of class 12 Science under the Examination Roll
no. ___________ for academic year 2025-2026. Regarding the
investigatory project entitled "Wheatstone bridge” under supervision of
Mrs. Snehal Bari as per requirement for Board Examination.
Date of submission: -
Principal External Examiner Internal Examiner
--------------------- ------------------------ ------------------------
School Stamp
Acknowledgement
I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to my principal
Mrs. Thresiamma Pappachan and my physics teacher Mrs.
Snehal Bari, who gave me the golden opportunity to this
project and providing support as well as guidance.
Secondly, I am deeply indebted to my parents and friends
without whose support and feedback, this project would not
have taken shape.
The valuable advice and suggestion help me to complete the
project within the given time.
I D X
N E
1. INTRODUCTION OF WHEATSTONE
BRIDGE
2. COMPONENTS OF WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
3. CIRCUIT CONSTRUCTION
4. WORKING PRINCIPLE
5. EXAMPLE CIRCUIT
6. APPLICATIONS
7. LIMITATIONS
8. CONCLUSION
9. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction and
history of
Wheatstone Bridge
The wheatstone bridge is a fundamental
electrical circuit used to measure an unknown
electrical resistance by balancing the
circuit. It was invented by Samuel
Hunter Christie in 1833, but
interestingly, it got its name from
the person who popularised its
use--- Sir Charles Wheatstone in
1843. He published his
experiments on its usefulness and
refined the system to a abetter
extent. The basic concept behind this system is
simple yet powerful; it
Samuel Hunter compares two voltage dividers to
determine an unknown
resistance.
Originally, the bridge was used primarily in
laboratory settings to calibrate measuring
instruments and standard resistors.
Over time it found applications in
various
industries and educational
institutions due to its precision.
Today, the Wheatstone Bridge is
also foundational in gauge
instruments, where small
Sir Charles Wheatstone
changes in resistance are used to detect strain in
materials.
COMPONENTS OF A WHEATSTONE BRDGE
1. A resistor with an unknown
resistance
And two resistors with known
resistance
2. A rheostat for variable
resistance
3. A voltage or a DC source to provide
potential difference
4. A galvanometer to measure the current and
find the null point.
5. Connecting wires to complete
the circuit
Circuit
Construction
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
It is a bridge – type structure having four resistances, three known and
one unknown.
1. Let the unknown resistance be Rx. It is the value
to be measured.
2. Connect them in a square like fashion.
3. Let the two opposite vertices be connected to the
DC source and the remaining two with a
galvanometer to complete the circuit.
4. Let the galvanometer be represented by G.
According to the principle of wheatstone bridge if the
ratio of the two resistances(R1/R2) on one edge is equal
to the ratio of the two resistances(R3/Rx) on another
edge then there will be no flow of current between the
midpoints of the two edges of resistance. This condition
of the bridge is known as the balanced bridge
condition.
In the balanced bridge condition, the current through
the galvanometer is zero and also the voltage
difference between the points B and D becomes zero,
i.e., at both points voltage level would be the same.
This is called null point.
Writing equations for the balance bridge condition
would look like:
R1
R2
= RRx3 OR R1×Rx = R3 × R2
R2
Thus, Rx = R3×( R 1 )
o This detection of zero current in galvanometer is of
utmost importance as it gives us an accurate value
for the unknown resistance without worrying about
internal currents affecting the measurement as
there is NO CURRENT.
o Also, even a slight deflection can easily be
detected making this method highly accurate and
sensitive.
o In the wheatstone bridge experiment, one resistor
should always be variable in order to obtain a
balanced condition. The circuit performs at its best
when the regulated voltage source is used, instead
of the current with repelling characteristics.
Let us consider the below circuit where the bridge is in an unbalanced
condition and we need to
APPLICATIONS OF WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
Measurement of Resistance: The main
application of the Wheatstone is in the
accurate measurement of the resistance of
an unknown resistor.
Calibration of Instruments: The
Wheatstone Bridge is also used to calibrate
devices such as ammeters, voltmeters,
and ohmmeters.
Temperature Sensing (Thermistors):
The Wheatstone can also be used to
measure small changes in temperature. A
thermistor resistor whose resistance varies
with temperature is added as one of the
resistors, and the change in resistance can
be measured as a change in voltage or
current.
Wheatstone Bridge Capacitor: Although
it has been used traditionally for
measuring resistances, the Wheatstone
Bridge can easily be modified to measure
capacitance in some circuits.
LIMITATION OF
WHEATSTONE BRIDGE
It may not be the ideal solution to calculate
small resistances. This is because the
resistance of contacts and leads becomes
significant and introduces errors in the
calculations. Hence, this bridge is modified
to Kelvin’s bridge for calculating small
resistances.
It may not be able to find the values of high
resistances. This is because the
measurements of the unknown resistance
become so large that the galvanometer
can’t show sensitivity to the deflections.
Hence, modifications to this bridge are
made to ensure the galvanometer remains
sensitive to the highest values of
resistances.
It may not be possible to accommodate the
heating effects of the current. It changes
the value of resistance that can’t be
calculated with this bridge. It is often
observed that excessive winds can cause
permanent changes in the resistance
values.
The Wheatstone bridge is a delicate device.
In an off-balance situation, measurements
may not even be accurate.
Wheatstone bridges are commonly used to
measure the resistance of a few ohms to
those few kilo-ohm
CONCLUSION
Thus, Wheatstone Bridge is a device
used to measure the unknown
resistance of a resistor when the other
resistance is known. The device has
four arms as four resistors and the
current is balanced as a ratio of lengths
and resistances
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites used:
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Some references from NCERT physics class 12.
Thank you to all the other unmentioned sources as well.