Current Sense / Current Shunt Resistors - The same?

[David]

Hi all,
Very quick and simple question. Are current shunt resistors synonymous with current sense resistors?

Regards,
Dave

[desolatordan]

Yes.

However when I hear shunt, I usually think of larger resistors with terminals like this:

[Chad1]

I know this is an older post, and probably a stupid question to most of you out there since I'm a student...but, what exactly is the purpose of a current shunt? I hear Dave reviewing multimeters mentioning the current shunt, and it's made me curious. I know I could search online for the answer, but I thought asking Dave and/or other experts would give me a better definition and purpose of a current shunt in a multimeter. Thanks!

[Frenchie]

What exactly is the purpose of a current shunt?

Basically a very low known value resistor (often just a piece of wire) that you put in series with the current you want to measure. You then measure the voltage drop across the shunt and use Ohm's law to get the current.

The shunt resistance needs to be small relative to the current so that you don't end up with a big voltage drop and impact the circuit by measuring it. Ie, the bigger the current you want to measure, the smaller the value has to be.