Instruments

Galvanometer

Citation Formats

General Reference

Science Atlas. "Galvanometer." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://science.interactiveatlas.org/instruments/galvanometer.

APA Style

Science Atlas. (n.d.). Galvanometer. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://science.interactiveatlas.org/instruments/galvanometer

BibTeX

@misc{scienceatlas-galvanometer,
  author = {Science Atlas},
  title = {Galvanometer},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://science.interactiveatlas.org/instruments/galvanometer},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A galvanometer is an electromechanical instrument for detecting and measuring small electric currents, most commonly by the deflection of a magnetic needle or coil in the field the current produces. The earliest galvanometer was reported by Johann Schweigger at the University of Halle on 16 September 1820, shortly after Hans Christian Orsted's discovery that an electric current deflects a compass needle; Schweigger's multiplier wound the current-carrying wire in coils around the needle to amplify the effect. Michael Faraday relied on galvanometers to detect the induced currents in his experiments on electromagnetic induction.

Facts

Invented Yearthe subject's own account

1820 1

Measuresthe subject's own account

Electric current, by the mechanical deflection it produces in a magnetic needle or coil 1

Operating Principlethe subject's own account

Current through a coil near a magnetized needle, or through a coil suspended in a fixed magnetic field, produces a torque proportional to the current; the resulting deflection, read against a calibrated scale, gives the current's size and direction. 1

Resolutionthe subject's own account

D'Arsonval's original moving-coil galvanometer could detect currents as small as ten microamperes. 1

Operating Rangethe subject's own account

A typical panel-meter galvanometer might read full scale at around 100 microamperes, with about 50 millivolts of voltage drop at that current. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections