Insight

Everything in today’s digital devices world is becoming a touch away. Whether it is filling an early morning coffee mug or setting the timer for washing  machine or turning ON the display of your PC.Capacitive Touch Technology is widely used in touch sensing devices. Less time response and environment adaptive features made it popular between the manufacturers. Some more applications are water purifiers, kitchen appliances, vending machines and switches.

Most of us have surely come across capacitive touch sensor in our day to day life but how many of us thought about the working principle behind it.Change in capacitance is used to sense the touch in capacitive display. Amazed? How can a two metal plate component which stores charge can sense the touch? Answer to the above question will be explored in this Insight.

In current technology scenario, monitoring of gases produced is very important. From home appliances such as air conditioners to electric chimneys and safety  systems at industries monitoring of gases is very crucial. Gas sensors are very important part of such systems.  Small like a nose, gas sensors spontaneously react to the gas present, thus keeping the system updated about any alterations that occur in the concentration of molecules at gaseous state.   

Gas sensors are available in wide specifications depending on the sensitivity levels, type of gas to be sensed, physical dimensions and numerous other factors. This Insight covers a methane gas sensor that can sense gases such as ammonia which might get produced from methane. When a gas interacts with this sensor, it is first ionized into its constituents and is then adsorbed by the sensing element. This adsorption creates a potential difference on the element which is conveyed to the processor unit through output pins in form of current. What is this sensing element? Is it kept in some chamber or is kept exposed? How does it get current and how it is taken out? Let’s find out in this Insight!!!