- Resistance temperature detectors, or RTDs, change the resistance of the RTD element directly with temperature.
- RTDs are made from a film and a glass or ceramic core with wire wrapped around it for greater accuracy.
- Platinum RTDs are available with a 100 Ω and 1000 Ω resistance at 0 °C, which is why they are referred to as PT100 and PT1000.
- Platinum RTDs offer a highly accurate linear output?across -200 to 600 °C but are much more expensive than copper or nickel.
- When the temperature of a metal increases, the resistance to the flow of electricity increases as well.
- An electrical current is passed through the sensor, the resistance element is used to measure the resistance of the current being passed through it.
- As the temperature of the resistance element increases the electrical resistance also increases.
- The response time for an RTD is between 0.5 and 5 seconds.