Transducers

It's an electronic device used to convert one type of physical property into some data for measurement or information purposes, in simple terms anything that converts energy can be referred to as a transducer.

The most common forms of transducers are microphones, potentiometers, thermometers, antenna, and magnetic cartridge etc. For instance a microphone converts sound waves that strike its diaphragm into analogous electric signals that's transferred across the wires.

Similarly another more commonly used transducer, an antenna is used to transmit or receive electromagnetic waves used for communication purposes in radio, television, wireless LAN, radars and outer space explorations. Antennas are powerful transducers which not only function in air but also under water and ground at specific frequencies.

Transducers are coupled with data acquisition systems to constantly record data over large periods of time, and are often used in different research processes, basically having to deal with physical, chemical and biological processes.