Accession No

1344

Brief Description

Gold-leaf electrometer by James White, 2nd half 19th C

Origin

Glasgow; Scotland

Maker

White. James

Class

electrical

Earliest Date

1850

Latest Date

1890

Inscription Date

Material

wood; metal; brass; ebonite; gold; glass; paper

Dimensions

height 270mm; breadth 176mm; depth 213mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Transferred from the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

Inscription

‘SIR W. THOMSON’S
PATENT NO 3
J. WHITE. GLASGOW’ (ebonite plate on top)
‘Equivalent on Vert…
30 = 2300 V’ (paper label on frame)

Description Notes

Brass quadrant box with glass front, mounted on wooden frame; brass terminal on ebonite plate on top, connected to gold-leaf frame; second terminal connected to case; paper dials on inside back of box, and on glass front, divided anticlockwise 0 - 90˚, numbered by 10˚, graduated to 1˚. Glass front removable; frame clamps gold leaf when not in use.
Wooden drawer on base contains scraps of gold leaf.

Condition fine (gold leaf intact); complete

References

Events