A thermocouple is primarily what type of sensor?

A thermocouple is primarily what type of sensor?

• A. Pressure
• B. Velocity
• C. Temperature
• D. Flow

Answer: (C)

A thermocouple measures temperature. It uses the Seebeck effect: two dissimilar metals joined at a sensing junction generate a small voltage that varies with temperature. The instrument reads that voltage and converts it to a temperature, with a reference junction kept at a known temperature to establish the baseline. This makes it a temperature sensor. It’s not intended to measure pressure, velocity, or flow, which are sensed by other transduction methods.

A thermocouple measures temperature. It uses the Seebeck effect: two dissimilar metals joined at a sensing junction generate a small voltage that varies with temperature. The instrument reads that voltage and converts it to a temperature, with a reference junction kept at a known temperature to establish the baseline. This makes it a temperature sensor. It’s not intended to measure pressure, velocity, or flow, which are sensed by other transduction methods.