VARIABLE RESISTORS DEFINITION BASIC AND TUTORIALS

Potentiometers. The potentiometer is a special form of variable resistor with three terminals. Two terminals are connected to the opposite sides of the resistive element, and the third connects to a sliding contact that can be adjusted as a voltage divider.

Potentiometers are usually circular in form with the movable contact attached to a shaft that rotates. Potentiometers are manufactured as carbon composition, metallic film, and wire-wound resistors available in single-turn or multiturn units.

The movable contact does not go all the way toward the end of the resistive element, and a small resistance called the hop-off resistance is present to prevent accidental burning of the resistive element.

Rheostat. The rheostat is a current-setting device in which one terminal is connected to the resistive element and the second terminal is connected to a movable contact to place a selected section of the resistive element into the circuit.

Typically, rheostats are wire-wound resistors used as speed controls for motors, ovens, and heater controls and in applications where adjustments on the voltage and current levels are required, such as voltage dividers and bleeder circuits.