Thermistors are devices that also measure temperature through a changing resistance effect. However, the resistance of materials from which thermistors are made decreases with increasing temperature from about-100 C to +300 C. In some thermistors,the decrease in resistance is as great as 6 percent for each 1 c of temperature change(although one percent changes are more typical) .
The decrease in resistance that takes place in thermistors involves the chemical bonding properties of electrons in semiconductor materials. In these materials the valence electrons are locked in covalent bonds with their neighbors. As the temperature of the thermistor is increased , the thermal vibrations of its atoms break up some of these bonds and release electrons. Since the electrons are no longer bound to the specific atoms in the lattice, they are able to respond to applied electric fields by moving through the material. These moving electrons add to the current in the semiconductor, and the material appears to have a smaller resistance.
Because the change of resistance per degree of temperature change in thermis tors is so large, they can provide good accuracy and resolution when used to measure temperatures between-100°C and +300°C. If an ammeter is utilized to monitor the current through a thermistor, temperature changes as small as +-0.1 C can be detected If the thermistor is instead put into a Wheatstone bridge, the measuring system can detect temperature changes as small as +-0.005 C.
Thermistors are most commonly made in the form of very small beads. This shape and others are shown in Fig. 14.24. Because of their small size, they can be inserted into regions where other larger temperature-sensing devices might not fit