A sensor element measures a process variable: flow rate, temperature, pressure, level, pH, density, composition, etc. Much of the time, the measurement is inferred from a second variable: flow and level are often computed from pressure measurements, composition from temperature measurements.
A transducer is a device that receives a signal and retransmits it in a different form. For example, we've discussed I/P transducers that convert a current signal to pneumatic form. Most industrial sensors act to detect process variables in the form of a position or voltage change, and hence most sensors also function as transducers. For example, a thermocouple represents a temperature change as a voltage change, while a displacer represents a level change as a change in position of a rotating element.
If the sensor element does not produce a signal suitable for transmission through the plant, an additional transducer element is needed. This combined sensor/transducer device is typically called a transmitter, at least in industrial settings. Laboratory equipment manufacturers are likely to refer to the combined device as a transducer.
Signals produced by sensor measurement and transducer transmission are processed by the control system. They may be displayed on control panels as indicators, stored by recorders, or used by alarms or switches. Standard symbols for these devices consist of two letter groups -- the first indicates the process variable, the second the control function. So: