VOLT METER

Ammeters and voltmeters are the most basic electrical instruments you will see in any school level laboratory or gadgets workshop. Previously we have covered the former, and today we will cover what is a voltmeter, why do we use it, how it works, and what types of voltmeters are out there. 

Definition of a Voltmeter

A voltmeter is an instrument for measuring the electrical potential difference between two points in a circuit. At the most basic level, it is a galvanometer with a resistance in series. The meter displays the potential difference across a part of the circuit in different denominations of Volts, therefore the name “voltmeter” came about.

A voltmeter is basically a movable coil or similar mechanism inside a magnet’s two poles. The moving structure inside also mounts a needle or pointer or a sensor on it, which allows us to read the value of the deflection of that moving part (due to the magnetic field). In size and capacity, they can vary a lot ‒ there are small, light ones used in labs and electronics workshops, and there are big solid ones attached to heavy-duty generators and transformers. And then there are those seriously high-powered ones we can see in the electricity stations, capable of measuring several thousand volts!