Signedon top panel: THE LEEDS & NORTHRUP Co. / PHILADELPHIA / 6256
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 Department of Physics, Lyman Laboratory, Harvard University.
Related WorksLeeds & Northrup, The Leeds & Northrup Potentiometer, Cat. 70 (1915).
Leeds & Northrup, "The Type K Family History," in Type K Potentiometer and Accessories, Cat EH22 (1948), p. 22.