19th Century Tech - The Galvanometer

Wow! I had no idea how these things worked, or what they did in the first place. Brilliant engineering! Thank you for teaching us about it. (As you mentioned, I would still like to know how they kept this thing steady on a ship!)

Mike Hughes

What a lovely piece of engineering- I am willing to bet that was at least a couple of thousand dollars back in 1955 - just because of the speciality and accuracy- it would be interesting if you could actually find out the original cost, as it was made in your home town. Love it!!

MrMobodies

Nice to learn something I never knew about today.

Jessica McIntosh

Very nice. Good to see you working again and looking much better. 😀

Might have been gimballed?

Remember using 70/80s student lab galvanometers in our physics practicals. Plus aren't some torsion balances based on the galvanometer principle?

David Peaker

A very interesting video. As several people have mentioned, this must have been very difficult to use at sea. This is my mnemonic for remembering trig equations- Slow Corporation Transport and Oliver Had A Horrible Old Aunt. I'll let you work out how to use it.

Leigh

Hi Fran, nice to see you back with a vintage bit of kit for us to learn about. Given it's wobble and then using it on a ship they would probably get just as good a result using some divining rods!

Kevin Reid

This was neat to see because I own a Rubicon 2732 potentiometer, which has a mirror galvanometer partly enclosed in a can — the lamp and stationary mirrors are external, but the coil and moving mirror are inside a can with a window. The rest of the construction, with a frame holding the mirrors and a tube surrounding the lamp, is very similar. The galvanometer also has a conventional meter needle, offering a wider display range than the mirror. It seems like it has some damping so that it settles faster than your unit.

Kendra Akin

Thank you. I have seen several in surplus sales over the years and have been tempted to pick one up because of the craft and engineering. And the sight of the '50s PVC insulation weeping is frightening (I do have some old General Radio and HP equipment that old). That brought back many memories, Again - Thank You.

Bill Rule

For my 2 cents worth, I reckon the "period" parameter is the pendulum effect period when the mechanism oscillates...literally 4 seconds. Great episode.

Dr Andy Hill

What an amazing instrument, Would love to see an original mid 1800s version, I wonder if any museums have one? I bet it was a full time job on a ship to operate, calibrate and no doubt repair, this instrument.

William Nimmo

Wow that is amazing,I Can not see how they used that out on the ocean ,or ever with multi conductor cable it being so sensitive! That is a great reproduction. You made ne learn some math LOL anyway thanks for making my old brain work a little Captain Out

HarveyB

Wonderful device, and great to see you looking so good! I've actually used a galvanometer in my studies in college (a hundred or so years ago! LOL) and have a couple of suggestions: To tame the swinging while trying to zero the beast, short across the coil to damp the movement, AND when calculating the current, don't forget to add the resistance of the coil to your external series resistance. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your collection and more great videos!

Thanks Fran! Enjoyed that. You look like you are feeling better. I was concerned. Take care, Sam

Rick Lett

I concur. How could one balance out that instrument on a pitching vessel when you had the darndest (being polite here) time on the bench? Musta been before their daily dram of grog! Love your vids!

William Alsing

That was fun!