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Glossary

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Strain gauge

Electrical resistance element consisting of an electrically conductive foil trace bonded to a strip of nonconductive carrier material. This carrier film is in turn bonded to the structure whose strain (elongation) force is to be measured. When the strain gauge is stretched, the length of the electrical conductor increases while its cross section decreases. The convergence of both these effects increases the electrical resistance of the conductor which is used to determine a measured value.