Re:Ask HN: What's the purpose of the resistor in this circuit?
by orblivion on Thursday March 19, 2009 @11:50PM
(#524473)
Most simple answer I can give:
If the resistor were replaced by a wire, the pin would always be connected to ground, rendering the thermistor irrelevant.
If the resistor were removed and ground disconnected entirely, the pin would be connected, through the thermistor, to +5V, again rendering the thermistor mostly irrelevant.
It needs to be part of a ratio of resistors in order to vary between 0 and +5V.
If the resistor were replaced by a wire, the pin would always be connected to ground, rendering the thermistor irrelevant.
If the resistor were removed and ground disconnected entirely, the pin would be connected, through the thermistor, to +5V, again rendering the thermistor mostly irrelevant.
It needs to be part of a ratio of resistors in order to vary between 0 and +5V.