The Earliest Electromagnetic InstrumentsChipman, Robert A.
History
The Earliest Electromagnetic Instruments
Chipman, Robert A.
Electric apparatus and appliances
Cumming's first mention of the multiplier phenomenon, in his paper of
April 2, 1821,[22] is quite casual, and describes only a one-turn
construction. He speaks first of single-turn ring of thick, brass wire,
and after noting that the sides of a circuit produce additive effects on
a needle, he comments that a flattened rectangular loop produces nearly
quadruple the effect of a single wire. The paper is primarily a review
of Oersted's work, with references to electromagnetic observations
before Oersted, and accounts of various related but nonmultiplier
experiments that Cumming has made. His second paper, of May 21st,
contains a fine plate (fig. 6) illustrating arrangements used in
investigating the subject of the paper's title "The Application of
Magnetism as a Measure of Electricity." (Neither Poggendorf nor any of
his commentators ever illustrated his "condenser.")
Although this plate is never referred to in the paper itself, a nearby
"Description" gives a few comments. The two wire patterns shown are
noted as simply "forms of spiral for increasing the electromagnetic
intensity." The mounted wire loop, with enclosed compass needle and
terminal mercury cups, is clearly identical in principle with the
devices of Schweigger and Poggendorf, and is called a "galvanoscope."
The largest structure illustrated does not involve the multiplying
effect. It is called a "galvanometer," consistent with Ampere's
definition of that word. To use it, two leads of a voltaic circuit are
inserted into the mercury cups AC and BD, and the board EFGH carrying
the cups is moved vertically until some "standard" deflection is
obtained on the compass needle below. The relative "strength" of the
circuit is then given by the calibrated position of the sliding section.
Uncertainties are undoubtedly introduced by the arbitrary positions of
the connecting wires from the test circuit to the mercury cups, but
Cumming drew some interesting conclusions from various measurements he
made.
Observing needle deflections for various positions of the wire A-B, with
a "constant" voltaic circuit, he found that "the tangent of the
deviation varies inversely as the distance of the connecting wire from
the magnetic needle." Here is a combination of the deflection law for a
needle in a transverse horizontal field and the magnetic-force law for a
long, straight wire. The latter had been determined experimentally by
Biot and Savart, in November 1820, by timing the oscillations of a
suspended magnet.[29]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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