Signedswitchboard marked: H. TINSLEY & Co / LONDON. S.E. No 2208
Inscribedplate on wooden base: Harvard University 1129
case marked: PROPERTY OF HARVARD ENGINEERING SCHOOL
FunctionA potentiometer is an instrument for measuring the potential (voltage) in a circuit. Before the introduction of the moving coil and digital volt meters, potentiometers were used in measuring voltage, hence the '-meter' part of their name. The method was described by Johann Christian Poggendorff around 1841 and became a standard laboratory measuring technique.
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ProvenanceFrom the Harvard University Engineering School, 11/56.