accelerometer

A accelerometer is a device that allows the measurement of acceleration. It is called acceleration, while act and result of accelerating Yet the magnitude which refers to change of velocity in a unit of time.

Notably speed up is the action that is developed to increase the speed. Speed ​​is called, on the other hand, the magnitude that reveals the distance traveled by a body in a time unit.

In short, accelerating something (a car, for example) involves increasing its speed. This is how it is achieved that what was accelerated moves faster, traveling more meters in less weather. The accelerometer, in this framework, is the instrument that can measure acceleration.

An accelerometer is used to measure acceleration.

How an accelerometer works

The accelerometer is also referred to as acceleration sensor. This is because, precisely, it consists of a sensor which measures how much something is speeding up or slowing down.

To fulfill its function, the accelerometer relies on the acceleration applied on a mass located in balance between springs. This process generates vibrations in the dough.

When vibrating, then, the mass compresses a piezoelectric material and there is a electric charge. In this way, the vibration level generated by the displacement.

In other words: the acceleration causes the mass to compress the piezoelectric material, producing an electrical charge that is proportional to the force exerted. Since the load is proportional to the strength and the mass is constant, the charge in turn is proportional to the acceleration.

In a car, an accelerometer can provide information about the brakes or activate the airbag.

Device uses

Typically, the accelerometer is used in heavy vehicles such as planes or trains and in different machines. Its use is not so common in automobiles, although it can help to analyze how effective are the brakes, for instance.

In modern cars, the accelerometer can be linked to the airbag. A car that brakes sharply and abruptly registers a strong deceleration; When the sensor detects this change, it can transmit the information to deploy the airbag almost immediately.

On the other hand, an accelerometer, by monitoring the vibrations of a machine, can provide valuable data on the state of its rotating elements. Another possibility is to carry out a structural test with the accelerometer to discover, from the vibrations, the safety conditions of a tank, a turbine or an engine.

The accelerometer on the phone

The smart phones, known in English as smartphones, have various sensors. One of them is the accelerometer, which is used to measure the change in speed due to movement or due to gravity.

With the accelerometer, the phone can "perceive" a modification of your orientation or your position. Cell phones or mobiles usually have a three axis accelerometer, thus identifying the orientation of the equipment with respect to the earth's surface.

It is important not to confuse the accelerometer with the gyroscope. While the accelerometer measures acceleration, the gyroscope studies spatial orientation. For this it resorts to a rotor (a disk that rotates freely), located on a rotating shaft that is installed in the center of a wheel. On the phone, accelerometer and gyroscope complement each other.