Abstract: A new approach to respiration monitoring is made possible by the invention of a broad new class of patent-pending sensors that are labeled 'symmetric differential capacitive' (SDC). A pressure transducer of SDC type is used in the described remote respiratory monitor. It is similar to others that use a diaphragm, but its improved electrical symmetry permits greater sensitivity than was previously possible in inexpensive devices. As developed and employed, the SDC sensors have been routinely part of automated systems. Used with a personal computer, they are opening up new vistas in physics, both in research and in pedagogy. Thus, it is expected that their impact in medical areas along similar lines could also be significant.