Assignment

Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation

H.N.T. Wijesekara
120716-U
Department of Electrical Engineering
1. What are the major components of a Cathode Ray Tube?

We can separate the CRT into three major parts. They are
a. The electron gun
b. Deflection system
c. Fluorescent screen
Now let us see each part separately
a. The electron gun
This is the part where electrons are produced and emitted at high velocities. Also this concentrates
the emitted electrons into a tight beam. The emission of electrons is done through a process called
thermionic emission. Here a filament in the cathode is heated until its electrons become loose.
Then the loose electrons are accelerated using an anode with a high voltage applied to it. Now the
electrons move towards the fluorescent screen. On the way the brightness of the image is adjusted
using control grids. If the grids are more positive, the brighter the images and vice versa. Here in
the diagram we have two anodes mainly. The first one focuses the electrons into a narrow beam
and the second one is responsible for the acceleration of the electrons.
b. Deflection system
This is part which controls the image on the screen. This decides the positions where the electrons
hit the screen. This is comprised with two perpendicular sets of electromagnetic fields to gain the
horizontal and vertical control of electrons. The deflection of the electron beam is varied by
varying the voltage applied to the two fields.
c. Fluorescent screen
This is the display unit in the CRT. It displays the positions where the electrons hit by emitting
light. The screen is coated with a fluorescent material such as Phosphorous or Zinc Sulfide which
produce scintillations when struck by electrons.
2. Describe the nature of the wave form used for the horizontal suite in an oscilloscope.

There are many types of wave forms associated with the horizontal suite in an oscilloscope. Sine
waves, square waves, rectangular waves, saw tooth waves, triangular waves, steps and pulses are some
of them.
Sine waves are a fundamental type of waves with harmonious mathematical properties. Test
signals produced by a signal generator are usually sine waves. Also alternating currents
produce sine waves. They are continuous and periodic.
Square waves are used as standard waveforms to test amplifiers. They are continuous and
periodic.
Saw tooth and triangle waves come out from circuits which are designed to control voltages
linearly. They are continuous and periodic.
Steps and pulses occur non-periodically. A pulse indicates sudden changes in voltage.
3. What are the advantages of an electronic voltmeter compared with a conventional one?

Electronic voltmeters have a digital display. Therefore parallax errors and human errors when
taking readings are reduced.
They have a higher range of input voltages (from 100 mV to 1000 mV).
They can automatically detect ranges and they are usually comprised with overload indication.
Higher accuracy than analog voltmeters due to enhanced interpolation abilities. Usually the
error is 0.005% of the reading.
The input impedance is higher than 10 M. Precision voltmeters have input impedance greater
than 1 G.
Gives out readings faster than conventional ones due to the higher computational power.
Can be programmed.
Comes in smaller sizes than the conventional ones.
The internal calibration of the instrument is independent from the measuring circuit.

4. Explain the difference between data logging systems and data acquisition systems.

Data logging system is a system that records data over time through sensors and analyzes the
data.
Data acquisition systems are systems involved in the conversion of analog waveforms into
digital values for further processing by computer.
A data logging system is also a data acquisition system. But a data acquisition system need not
necessarily be a data logging system.
Data logging systems have slower sampling rates when compared to data acquisition systems.
Data logging systems are implicit stand-alone systems while the data acquisition systems
should be always tethered to a computer system to acquire data.
Data logging systems are usually comprised with magnetic tapes, punched paper tapes, directly
viewable recorders while the data acquisition systems contain static RAMs, flash memory and
EEPROM.