What type of meter is used to measure current without breaking the circuit?

What type of meter is used to measure current without breaking the circuit?

• A. Voltmeter
• B. Clamp on amp meter
• C. Ohmmeter
• D. Wattmeter

Answer: (B)

Measuring current without breaking the circuit is done with a clamp-on ammeter. Its jaw clamps around a single conductor and senses the magnetic field produced by the flowing current, so the circuit path remains uninterrupted. This lets you read current on live circuits, and many clamp meters cover AC, with some capable of DC using Hall-effect sensing. For context, a voltmeter is used to measure voltage and is connected across two points in the circuit, not to current. An ohmmeter measures resistance by injecting current into a component and requires the circuit to be de-energized. A wattmeter measures power by combining current and voltage but isn’t used to directly measure current without affecting the circuit.

Measuring current without breaking the circuit is done with a clamp-on ammeter. Its jaw clamps around a single conductor and senses the magnetic field produced by the flowing current, so the circuit path remains uninterrupted. This lets you read current on live circuits, and many clamp meters cover AC, with some capable of DC using Hall-effect sensing.

For context, a voltmeter is used to measure voltage and is connected across two points in the circuit, not to current. An ohmmeter measures resistance by injecting current into a component and requires the circuit to be de-energized. A wattmeter measures power by combining current and voltage but isn’t used to directly measure current without affecting the circuit.