galvanometer
Sign in to savethumb|320px|An early D'Arsonval galvanometer showing magnet and rotating coil
AI overview
A galvanometer is an instrument that detects and measures small electric currents by using a magnet to make a coil rotate, with the amount of rotation indicating the strength of the current. It was an important early tool for studying electricity and became the foundation for modern electrical measuring devices like ammeters and voltmeters.
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Article
22 sectionsContents
- Operation
- Uses
- Modern uses
- Past uses
- History
- Hans Christian Ørsted
- Schweigger and Ampère
- Poggendorff and Thomson
- Georg Ohm
- D'Arsonval and Deprez
- Edward Weston
- Taut-band movement
- Types
- Tangent galvanometer
- Theory
- Geomagnetic field measurement
- Astatic galvanometer
- Mirror galvanometer
- Ballistic galvanometer
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|320px|An early D'Arsonval galvanometer showing magnet and rotating coil
A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. Galvanometers work by deflecting a pointer in response to an electric current flowing through a coil in a constant magnetic field. The mechanism is also used as an actuator in applications such as hard disks.