Control knob

Two control knobs for a heating/cooling system. The left knob controls the temperature while the right controls the fan speed.

A control knob is a rotary device used to provide manual input adjustments to a mechanical/electrical system when grasped and turned by a human operator, so that differing extent of knob rotation corresponds to different desired input. Control knobs are a simpler type of input hardware and one of the most common components in control systems, and are found on all sorts of devices from taps and gas stoves to optical microscopes, potentiometers, radio tuners and digital cameras, as well as in aircraft cockpits.[1]