Sensors for pressure, load, temperature, acceleration andmany other physical quantities often take the form of aWheatstone bridge. These sensors can be extremely linearand stable over time and temperature. However, mostthings in nature are only linear if you don’t bend them toomuch. In the case of a load cell, Hooke’s law states that thestrain in a material is proportional to the applied stress—as long as the stress is nowhere near the material’s yieldpoint (the “point of no return” where the material ispermanently deformed).