Tangent galvanometer

Tangent galvanometer is an early measuring instrument for small electric currents. It consists of
a coil of insulated copper wire wound on a circular non-magnetic frame. IThe galvanometer is
mainly used in the bridges and potentiometer where they indicate the null deflection or zero current.Its
working is based on the principle of the tangent law of magnetism.The tangent galvanometer
works on the principle of tangent law. The magnetic needle is subjected to two magnetic fields
which are perpendicular to each other. One field is due to the horizontal component of earth's
magnetic field and other is created by passing the current through the coil of the tangent
galvanometer. It is called a Galvanometer, because in certain circumstances it can be used to
accurately measure currents from known field strengths.t gets its name from its operating principle,
the tangent law of magnetism, which states that the tangent of the angle a compass needle makes is
proportional to the ratio of the strengths of the two perpendicular magnetic fields. It was first described
by Claude Pouillet in 1837.[5]
A tangent galvanometer consists of a coil of insulated copper wire wound on a circular non-magnetic
frame. The frame is mounted vertically on a horizontal base provided with levelling screws. The coil
can be rotated on a vertical axis passing through its centre. A compass box is mounted horizontally at
the centre of a circular scale. It consists of a tiny, powerful magnetic needle pivoted at the centre of
the coil. The magnetic needle is free to rotate in the horizontal plane. The circular scale is divided into
four quadrants. Each quadrant is graduated from 0° to 90°. A long thin aluminium pointer is attached
to the needle at its centre and at right angle to it. To avoid errors due to parallax, a plane mirror is
mounted below the compass needle.
In operation, the instrument is first rotated until the magnetic field of the Earth, indicated by the
compass needle, is parallel with the plane of the coil. Then the unknown current is applied to the coil.
This creates a second magnetic field on the axis of the coil, perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic
field. The compass needle responds to the vector sum of the two fields, and deflects to an angle
equal to the tangent of the ratio of the two fields. From the angle read from the compass's scale, the
current could be found from a table.[6] The current supply wires have to be wound in a small helix, like
a pig's tail, otherwise the field due to the wire will affect the compass needle and an incorrect reading
will be obtained.

Tangent Galvanometer


An 1850 Pouillet Tangent Galvanometer on display at Musée d'histoire des sciences de la Ville de Genève
 
Tangent galvanometer made by J. H. Bunnell Co. around 1890.


Top view of a tangent galvanometer made about 1950. The indicator needle of the compass is perpendicular to the shorter,
black magnetic needle.
Theory[edit]
The galvanometer is oriented so that the plane of the coil is vertical and aligned along parallel to the
horizontal component BH of the Earth's magnetic field (i.e. parallel to the local "magnetic meridian").
When an electric current flows through the galvanometer coil, a second magnetic field B is created. At
the center of the coil, where the compass needle is located, the coil's field is perpendicular to the
plane of the coil. The magnitude of the coil's field is:

where I is the current in amperes, n is the number of turns of the coil and r is the radius of the coil.
These two perpendicular magnetic fields add vectorially, and the compass needle points along the
direction of their resultant BH+B. The current in the coil causes the compass needle to rotate by an
angle θ:

From tangent law, B = BH tan θ, i.e.

or

or I = K tan θ, where K is called the Reduction Factor of the tangent galvanometer.

One problem with the tangent galvanometer is that its resolution degrades at both high currents and
low currents. The maximum resolution is obtained when the value of θ is 45°. When the value of θ is
close to 0° or 90°, a large percentage change in the current will only move the needle a few
degrees.[7]
Geomagnetic field measurement[edit]
A tangent galvanometer can also be used to measure the magnitude of the horizontal component of
the geomagnetic field. When used in this way, a low-voltage power source, such as a battery, is
connected in series with a rheostat, the galvanometer, and an ammeter. The galvanometer is first
aligned so that the coil is parallel to the geomagnetic field, whose direction is indicated by the
compass when there is no current through the coils. The battery is then connected and the rheostat is
adjusted until the compass needle deflects 45 degrees from the geomagnetic field, indicating that the
magnitude of the magnetic field at the center of the coil is the same as that of the horizontal
component of the geomagnetic field. This field strength can be calculated from the current as
measured by the ammeter, the number of turns of the coil, and the radius of the coils.