Accession No

4431

Brief Description

Thomson-Varley coils, defined as a form of potential divider

Origin

Maker

W.M. Warden & Co.

Class

electrical

Earliest Date

1900

Latest Date

1950

Inscription Date

Material

metal; brass; wood; ivorine; bakelite; glass; white metal

Dimensions

length 707mm; breadth 400mm; height 350mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Transferred from the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, on 24/09/1993.

Inscription

‘THOMSON-VARLEY
COILS’ (front)
‘ENGINEERING LABORATORY
CAMB. UNIV.’ (ivorine plate on lid)

Description Notes

Wooden box with hinged lid and brass fasteners, containing two dials on bakelite bases. The dials are for setting resistances and are made of brass with a glass cover. Each has a bakelite knob and brass indicator which moves over a series of white metal markers. The left-hand dial is divided 0 - 101, numbered by 1; the right-hand dial is divided 0 - 100, numbered by 1. Seven brass terminals, four on the left and three on the right; four of these are connected between the two dials by means of brass strips.
Paper instructions on the inside of the lid define the instrument as a form of potential divider for comparing EMFs and capacities, in particular for tests concerned with submarine cables.

Condition good; complete

References

Events