TRANSDUCER
A device for transforming or converting power from one form to another. Thus, a MICROPHONE is a transducer which converts variations of SOUND PRESSURE into variations of electrical current, and a LOUDSPEAKER is a transducer which performs the reverse function. Such devices are termed ELECTROACOUSTIC.
See: DIAPHRAGM. Compare: AMPLIFIER, GENERATOR, LIMITER, RECEIVER, RECTIFICATION.
The equivalent device for changing audio signals to digital form and back is called a converter. See: DIGITAL RECORDING, SOUND SYNTHESIS.
Another type of transducer is the accelerometer which reacts to the acceleration (rate of change of velocity) of a surface to which it is attached, producing an equivalent electrical signal.
The EAR itself may be regarded as a complex non-LINEAR transducer in that it converts acoustic energy into electrical impulses in the INNER EAR. See: BASILAR MEMBRANE.
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