sensor

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sensor

electronics

Also known as: sensing device, sensing element

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July 13, 2026

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seismic sensor — seismic sensor A helicopter-borne “smart spider” sensor sitting on a ridge of Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in the Pacific Northwest. This sensor is part of a wireless network of such devices designed to monitor the tremors, ground deformation, explosions, and ash emissions associated with volcanoes.

A sensor is a device that detects a physical quantity and typically transmits a signal in response. These devices are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, radar guns use microwaves to detect the speed of cars, while burglar alarms might use photosensors to detect broken light beams or ultrasonic waves to detect movement. Other sensors can detect pressure, such as barometers, or chemicals, like smoke detectors and Breathalyzers. Even simple devices like stud finders, used by carpenters, can employ magnets or radar to locate objects within walls. Wired gloves are also a type of sensor, relaying finger position for virtual reality.123

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automotive ceramics
Sensors
In addition to the oxygen sensor used for monitoring and controlling air-to-fuel ratio (see conductive ceramics), many other sensors are employed in automobiles to gauge a number of variables, including temperature, pressure, speed, and fuel level. Many of these sensors are made of ceramic.…
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In addition to the oxygen sensor used for monitoring and controlling air-to-fuel ratio (see conductive ceramics), many other sensors are employed in automobiles to gauge a number of variables, including temperature, pressure, speed, and fuel level. Many of these sensors are made of ceramic.…
Read More

nanotechnology
Nanomaterials
Sensors are central to almost all modern control systems. For example, multiple sensors are used in automobiles for such diverse tasks as engine management, emission control, security, safety, comfort, vehicle monitoring, and diagnostics. While such traditional applications for physical sensing generally rely on microscale sensing…
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Sensors are central to almost all modern control systems. For example, multiple sensors are used in automobiles for such diverse tasks as engine management, emission control, security, safety, comfort, vehicle monitoring, and diagnostics. While such traditional applications for physical sensing generally rely on microscale sensing…
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robot
Robotics research
Sensors—sonar and laser rangefinders, cameras, and special light sources—are used with algorithms that model images or spaces by using various geometric shapes and that attempt to deduce what a robot’s position is, where and what other things are nearby, and how different tasks can be…
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Sensors—sonar and laser rangefinders, cameras, and special light sources—are used with algorithms that model images or spaces by using various geometric shapes and that attempt to deduce what a robot’s position is, where and what other things are nearby, and how different tasks can be…
Read More