I am reading about this stuff, and I have found clear definitions of thermocouples and thermistors online, eg on Wikipedia. But then I also found something different, e.g. what they at AdaFruit just call an "analogue temperature sensor" (link). It is called TMP36, from Analogue Devices (link).
What is this category called? If I have a name for it I can find general advice and information on whether this is the way I want to go.
Do they work somewhat like thermistors or thermocouples or in an entirely different way?
I am a hobbyist, if possible please consider this in your answer by not making it more complex than necessary.
Best Answer
They are normally referred to as temperature sensors, or temperature ICs. Looking up the part on digikey shows that they catalog it as a Temperature Sensor, Transducer. I've also heard people in the industry refer to them as Band Gap sensors, named for the principle in which they operate under.
It is different from a thermistor because those vary resistance with temperature due to the chemical makeup of the material it is made out of.
It is different from a thermocouple as those produce a voltage between two dissimilar conductors depending on their temperatures.
They are just an already implemented module that will give you a voltage output proportional to temperature. A thermistor or thermocouple will need a circuit to get a varying voltage with temperature. For the module you posted it is integrated into the IC.