Talk:Transducer

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A correction: *acoustical* energy is an instance of *mechanical* energy. Our auditory system converts the mechanical vibrations to an electrical signal we recognize as sound. Just as *light* energy is electromagnetic energy, *acoustic* energy is simply mechanical energy. There is no transformation of mechanical to *acoustical* energy from the cone to the air. If you held your head to the mechanical cone in a vacuum chamber, you would STILL hear the sound. This is because the mechanical vibration of the cone travel from the cone to your head and resonates. Your ears pick out the vibration and will convert it to the electrical signal we recognize as sound if it's of an appropriate frequency. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.12.148.193 (talk) 01:35, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

One concern of mine, is that the most common use of transducer is that of a pick-up for an acoustic instrument, while these fall under this category, it should probably be mentioned in this article that unless you use this sort of equipment, people are likely to be referring to musical instruments in every day conversation.



bI feel it is very confusing to potential readers who are trying to understand electricity, electronics, physics etc., to have the following included in this page:

These devices do NOT "Convert one form of energy to another".

Transformers, for example, merely change alternating current power from one voltage to another. Transistors CONTROL electric current, they don't convert it. Etc. Etc.

If someone has a strong opinion to the contrary, please express it here soon.

Regards, Terry King terry@terryking.us

( following up for removal....)---------

  1. Electronic. These components change one electrical parameter in response to another. By some definitions these are electronic components, not transducers:
   * diode
   * gyrator
   * varicap diode, varactor diode, tuning diode
   * negative impedance converter, NIC
   * Schottky diode
   * transistor, Field effect transistor (FET)
   * Transorb
   * tunneling diode
   * varistor
   * voltage-dependent resistor
   * Zener diode
  1. Electrical... These components change one electrical parameter in response to another. By some definitions these are passive electronic components, not transducers:
   * capacitor
   * inductor
   * transformer
   * resistor
  1. Mechanical:
   * gear

Agree!! Get rid of it --Ekko 17:01, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Just like a transistor, a switch is not a transducer. An ideal switch has no energy involved in going from off to on. I am removing it. -Athaler 18:51, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

I give you the right definition for transducer: A device for converting energy from one form to another for the measurement of a physical quantity or for information transfer. Now I tell you that the electrochemical transducer voce should be coss out because not conforming to definition.

Agree. This list has become bloated beyond all usefulness. --Heron 19:50, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
I've done it. I hope I haven't been too bold - but the revert link is always there if you don't like my version. --Heron 20:02, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

This article doesn't admit the existence of biological transducers, such as the eye and ear. Grassynoel 09:02, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

While I agree, I'm not sure how to categorize them beyond "biological". What form of energy are neural signals? From my limited neurobiology, I seem to remember that individual neurons store the signal as electric charge imbalances, but the signal is transmitted between them as a chemical signal. -Athaler 18:51, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mechanical and electrical engineering

In cybernetics and systems engineering, there is a notable and well-documented usage of the term "transduction" in the Viable System Model, which refers to the transformation of signals or information. The editors of this page evidently wish to restrict this page to the transduction of energy. This restriction may be valid within some forms of engineering, but is not valid across all forms of engineering. For the sake of clarity, therefore, I am therefore changing the hatnote (and the disambiguation page on Transduction from "engineering" to "mechanical and electrical engineering". --RichardVeryard (talk) 11:51, 3 March 2008 (UTC)