decade resistance box
Datecirca 1920
Inventory Number0576
ClassificationResistance Box
Subject
Maker
Leeds & Northrup Company
1903 - 1995
User
Department of Physics, Harvard University
founded 1884
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Place of Use
Dimensions10.5 × 16.3 × 11 cm (4 1/8 × 6 7/16 × 4 5/16 in.)
Material
DescriptionDecade resistance box consisting of two dial switches of 1 and 10 ohms with ten steps each, and two binding posts, mounted on a hard rubber panel over a rectangular wooden box. The internal resistance made up of 5 coils for each decade and special switching.
Original museum card notes that this instrument was designed for the damping of galvanometer or shunt resistance.
Original museum card notes that this instrument was designed for the damping of galvanometer or shunt resistance.
Signedon top panel: LEEDS & NORTHRUP CO. / PHILADELPHIA / 28814
Inscribedsmall nickeled plate on box: PATENTED JULY 28, 1914
small plate on box: NO. 100 HARVARD UNIVERSITY Jefferson Physical Laboratory
FunctionSuch an instrument is used to measure the resistance of electric conductors. For a short general description and other images, go to the following website.
The decade name comes from the fact that the resistance is measured in single units divided in two dials, each a multiple of 10, from 1 to 99 Ohms.
The decade name comes from the fact that the resistance is measured in single units divided in two dials, each a multiple of 10, from 1 to 99 Ohms.
ProvenanceFrom the Department of Physics, Lyman Laboratory, Harvard University.
