Summary

Thermistors are a type of resistor that change their resistance with temperature

Thermistors

Most thermistors are negative temperature coefficient (ntc) components, meaning their resistance decrease with temperature

  • The vast majority of ntc thermistors also have a non-linear response to changing temperature; in other words, a graph of resistance against temperature is a curve

Use of Thermistors

Thermistors are widely used in circuits to sense temperature changes, and then to control devices; the change in the resistance of the thermistor affects a current, which can be used to switch devices on or off

They can be found in thermal cut-off circuits to prevent devices from over-heating (such as a hairdryer), central heating circuits, digital thermometers and engine-management circuits

Thermistors

Thermistors