Improvements accelerated after Hans Christian Ørsted
showed that a magnetic compass is deflected
by an electric current.
Johann Schweigger made the first sensitive galvanometer
using current in a coil of wire to deflect a magnetic needle
from Earth’s magnetic field.
It’s not for nothing that Schweigger
named the galvanometer
after Luigi Galvani.
Personal connections
Galvani knew Volta
who made the first battery.
Galvani’s nephew helped him
develop the frog galvanoscope.
Ørsted was inspired by Volta’s work.
Schweigger edited the journal
that published Ørsted’s paper,
and published critiques of Volta’s theory
on metal contact in animal electricity.
Moving the dial
You indicate an interest
when your experience
pushes against what you know.
Your sense of the situation
matches instinctual patterns,
pulling you into a dance.
A small number of basic faces
are behind many masks.
Moving toward the impulse
enforces your confidence.
What you know is a record
of when you were not thwarted
and when you fought it.
Galvanometers not only detect but measure the strength and direction of an electric current.
Galvanometer mechanisms are also used in other analog meters for visualizing the outputs of other sensors.
Galvanometers not only detect but measure the strength and direction of an electric current. Galvanometer mechanisms are also used in other analog meters for visualizing the outputs of other sensors.
See also in The book of science:
Readings on wikipedia: