








Polarized 'guillotine' relay, designed by W Andrews, England, 1862-1866.
A relay is an electrically operated switch, and allowed weak telegraph signals to be boosted by a local power source. Polarised electrical relays work by using an armature in between the poles of a permanent magnet in order to increase sensitivity. This one has an armature in the form of a semicircular magnet, placed horizontally and vibrating between two electromagnets. The current passes through both sets of coils, which are wound so that one attracts, and the other repels the armature.
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Science Museum: Information Age Gallery: Cable
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Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1876-1490
- Materials:
- brass (copper, zinc alloy), glass and wood (unidentified)
- type:
- electric switch
- taxonomy:
-
- component - object
- credit:
- From William Stratford Andrews
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