# Sensor
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## Microsims — p5.js
### Sensor (p5.js) · `transduce`
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<iframe src="https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/full/hmYLjqAjQ" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" title="Sensor — p5.js microsim"></iframe>
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*A device that converts a physical quantity into an electrical signal — the origin of most real-world data.*
**Open in the editor:** [▶ fork this sketch](https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/sketches/hmYLjqAjQ) · movement *VIII · Imaging, audio & sensors* · library `p5js`
### Related microsims
Live sims on neighbouring articles — 3 of them inside this article's own Wikipedia link tree:
- [[Quantization_(signal_processing)]] *(in tree)*
- [[Transducer]] *(in tree)*
- [[Transfer_function]] *(in tree)*
- [[Decibel]]
- [[Digital_image_processing]]
- [[Distortion]]
*Sim hosted off-article; the article owns the reference, not the runtime (WIKI_RULES §10.4). Placed by `g08_place_microsims.py`.*
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## Links (Wikipedia order)
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`3D_microfabrication` · `6_μm_process` · [[Accuracy_and_precision]] · `Active-pixel_sensor` · `Actuator` · `Adsorption` · `Agriculture` · `Aliasing` · `Ammonia` · `Analog-to-digital_converter` · `Analyte` · `Antibody` · `Attitude_and_heading_reference_system` · `Bias` · `Bio-FET` · `Biomarker` · `Biomedicine` · `Biosensor` · `Biotechnology` · `Blood` · `Bluetooth` · `Bode_plot` · `Building_automation` · `CMOS` · `Calibration` · `Cantilever` · `Carbon_monoxide` · `Censer` · `Censure` · `Charge-coupled_device` · `Chemical_field-effect_transistor` · [[Chemistry]] · `Comb_drive` · `Concentration` · `Consumer_IR` · `DNA_field-effect_transistor` · `Data_acquisition` · `Data_logger` · `Detector_(radio)` · `Dialysis_(chemistry)` · `Digital_camera` · `Digital_imaging` · `Digital_micromirror_device` · `Digital_subscriber_line` · `Electrolyte` · `Electronics_Letters` · `Eric_Fossum` · `Ethernet` · `Event_camera` · `Fire_detection` · `Floor_plan` · `Full_scale` · `Gas` · `Gas_detector` · `George_E._Smith` · `Glucose` · `Heating,_ventilation,_and_air_conditioning` · `HomePNA` · `HomePlug` · `Home_automation` · `Home_energy_monitor` · `Home_network` · `Home_server` · `HowStuffWorks` · `Hydrogel` · [[Hydrogen]] · `Hydrogen_sulfide` · `Hysteresis` · `IEEE_1394` · `ISFET` · `Image_sensor` · `Infrared` · `IntelliMouse` · [[Ion]] · `Lighting_control_system` · `Linearity` · `Liquid` · `List_of_sensors` · `LonWorks` · `MOSFET` · `Macromolecule` · `Matter_(standard)` · `Membrane` · `Membrane_potential` · `Mesh_networking` · `Metal_gate` · `Microcontroller` · `Micromachinery` · `Microscopic_scale` · `Microtechnology` · `Millipede_memory` · `NMOS_logic` · `Nanoelectronics` · `Nanosensor` · `Noise` · `Office` · `Olympus_Corporation` · `Optical_fiber` · `Optical_mouse` · `PH` · `Photolithography` · [[Physics]] · `Piet_Bergveld` · `Potentiometer` · `Power-line_communication` · `Programmable_communicating_thermostat` · `Programmable_logic_controller` · [[Quantization_(signal_processing)]] · `Radio-frequency_microelectromechanical_system` · `Radio_frequency` · `Receptor_(biochemistry)` · `Reference_electrode` · `Residential_gateway` · `Richard_F._Lyon` · `Robotic_mapping` · [[Robotics]] · `Scratch_drive_actuator` · `Semipermeable_membrane` · `Sensitivity_(electronics)` · [[Signal]] · [[Signal_processing]] · `Signal_transduction` · `Silicon_on_insulator` · `Smart_grid` · `Standard_deviation` · `Stimulus_(physiology)` · `Sulfur_dioxide` · `Surface_micromachining` · `Switch` · `Tactile_sensor` · `Temperature_measurement` · [[Transducer]] · [[Transfer_function]] · `UMTS` · `USB` · `Ubiquitous_computing` · `Unit_of_length` · `Weather_station` · `Wi-Fi` · `Willard_Boyle` · `Wire` · `Wire_bonding` · `Wireless` · `Wireless_sensor_network` · `Xerox` · `Y-intercept` · `Z-Wave` · `Zigbee`
> Signal Processing concept · part of the Signal Processing Portal · movement VIII · !82 音響 onkyō.svg
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*Rendered from the live microsim (▶ motion).*
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## See it next
[](Transducer)
*→ [[Transducer|Transducer]]*
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---
Back to Signal Processing Portal · the room · Semiotic gateway
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## What it is
A sensor is a device that detects a physical quantity—such as light, sound, temperature, or pressure—and converts it into a measurable signal, typically electrical.
## How it works / why it matters
By transforming a physical stimulus into a proportional output, a sensor forms the front end of most measurement and signal-processing chains; the resulting signal is then conditioned, sampled, and digitized for analysis. Sensor characteristics such as sensitivity, range, linearity, and noise directly bound the quality of everything downstream.
## Signs & universals
Instantiates: measurement, signal, transformation, noise.
## Related
Movement-VIII siblings: [[Transducer]], Sensor array, Charge-coupled device, Hearing aid. See also Audio signal processing.
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## From the Real GENERATIVE library
> A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of detecting a physical phenomenon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor))
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*Built to the [[WT!P5_js_Microsim_Master_Class|p5.js Master Class]].*
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Sensor)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parent: [[Control_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*