How does your car know how much gas you have?
In: Engineering
There is a sensor in the gas tank. There are several types, but the simplest is a floating device (like a rubber ball) connected by a lever to an electronic component called a potentiometer (think volume buttons on old stereos). As the gas level goes down, the floater goes with it pulling the lever on the potentiometer. The varying electricity flowing through the potentiomenter is used to power the gauge on the dash, making it go from one side to the other as the tank empties.
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