Nearby Words

potentiometer

[puh-ten-shee-om-i-ter]

po·ten·ti·om·e·ter

[puh-ten-shee-om-i-ter]
noun Electricity.
1.
a device for measuring electromotive force or potential difference by comparison with a known voltage.

Origin:
1880–85; potenti(al) + -o- + -meter

po·ten·ti·o·met·ric [puh-ten-shee-uh-me-trik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To potentiometer

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Potentiometer has a plethora of syllables.
So is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Does it mean:
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, powerful high explosive, C3H6N6O6, used chiefly in bombs and shells.
Collins
World English Dictionary
potentiometer (pəˌtɛnʃɪˈɒmɪtə)
 
n
1.  an instrument for determining a potential difference or electromotive force by measuring the fraction of it that balances a standard electromotive force
2.  a device with three terminals, two of which are connected to a resistance wire and the third to a brush moving along the wire, so that a variable potential can be tapped off: used in electronic circuits, esp as a volume control
 
potenti'ometry
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
potentiometer   (pə-těn'shē-ŏm'ĭ-tər)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A mechanical variable resistor. See more at resistor.

  2. An instrument for measuring an unknown voltage by comparison with a known voltage, such as that of a generator.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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