The potentiometer ad the voltmeter both are the voltage measuring device. The main key difference is that the potentiometer measures the emf of the circuit while the voltmeter measures the end terminal voltage of the circuit device. so here this article gives the main key difference between potentiometer and voltmeter to better understand this topic.
What is potentiometer?
The potentiometer is the three-terminal devices used for measuring the unknown voltage source by comparing it with the known voltage. The standard source supplies the known voltage.
What is a voltmeter?
As we know, The voltmeter measures the voltages between any two points of an electrical circuit. The voltmeter has high iteral resistance because of which the meter draws a small current.
Difference between potentiometer and voltmeter:
- The sensitivity of the potentiometer is very high. It can measure a small potential difference between the two points. The voltmeter has low sensitivity.
- The potentiometer is an instrument used for measuring the mainly of an emf, whereas the voltmeter is a type of meter which measures the terminal's voltage of the circuit.
- The potentiometer uses the null deflection type instrument but the voltmeter uses the deflection type instrument.
- The potentiometer has infinite iteral resistance, whereas the potentiometer has high measurable resistance.
- The potentiometer accurately measures the potential difference because of it zero internal resistance. while the voltmeter has high iteral resistance which causes the error measurement. thus the voltmeter approximately measures the voltage.