Conditioning of Temperature Sensor Output Signals Temperature is a physical variable characterising the flow of heat energy. A temperature measurement process attaches real numbers to the degree of hotness of bodies . Although it can only be measured by suitable sensors the output of these components needs to be presented to the human observer by indicators, recorders or other instruments . To accomplish this further task it is necessary to transform the temperature signal, which is in the thermal energy domain, into another more convenient energy form. Transforming to electrical signals is the most convenient for these purposes | Temperature Measurement Second Edition L. Michalski K. Eckersdorf J. Kucharski J. McGhee Copyright 2001 John Wiley Sons Ltd ISBNs 0-471-86779-9 Hardback 0-470-84613-5 Electronic 12 Conditioning of Temperature Sensor Output Signals Introduction Temperature is a physical variable characterising the flow of heat energy. A temperature measurement process attaches real numbers to the degree of hotness of bodies. Although it can only be measured by suitable sensors the output of these components needs to be presented to the human observer by indicators recorders or other instruments. To accomplish this further task it is necessary to transform the temperature signal which is in the thermal energy domain into another more convenient energy form. Transforming to electrical signals is the most convenient for these purposes. This allows more effective forms of processing which may also be called conditioning of the temperature signal in systems such as that shown in Figure . Evidently these operations are an important stage of the temperature measuring process. Transformation and conditioning of measuring signals are important in metrology lOTech Inc. 1998 Lang 1987 . Nevertheless the critical element in all measuring channels is the sensor itself. It is a widely accepted opinion that no amount of signal treatment can improve an inherently bad signal. The significant developments which can be observed in transformation and conditioning methods are also causing fundamental changes in the handling of temperature data. These data are probably the most widely encountered type of data as temperature is generally regarded as the most frequently measured temperature indicating devices Figure Signal processing as a part of temperature measuring chain 230 CONDITIONING OF TEMPERATURE SENSOR OUTPUT SIGNALS physical quantity both in laboratories and in industry. Usually the conditioning units which enhance the quality of the whole measuring system allow more easy .
