0 an instrument for measuring electromotive force (= a difference in electric potential)
Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used as position transducers, for example, in a joystick.
Preset potentiometers are widely used throughout electronics wherever adjustments must be made during manufacturing or servicing.
The widespread use of potentiometers in consumer electronics declined in the 1990s, with rotary encoders, up/down push-buttons, and other digital controls now more common.
Multiturn potentiometers are also operated by rotating a shaft, but by several turns rather than less than a full turn.
They are usually called preset potentiometers or trimming pots.
Potentiometers which are seldom adjusted, especially in dirty or harsh environments, are most likely to develop this problem.
When television sets were first introduced, the controls were potentiometers made out of wax.
The 2 sticks each used a pair of potentiometers, but were not self-centering.
