English: Early quadrant electrometer, one of the first electrical measuring instruments, consisting of a lightweight ball of pith suspended by a thread from a brass post, with a scale to measure the angle. It was mounted on early electrostatic lab equipment such as electrostatic generators and Leyden jars to indicate the amount of electric charge present. When the post has no charge, the ball hangs straight down. When an electric charge is introduced, some of the charge is transferred to the surface of the ball. Since it has the same charge as the post it is repelled and hangs at an angle. The angle gives a rough indication of the amount of charge.
Date
Source
1861, "A textbook on chemistry"
Author
John William Draper
Licensing
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
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