This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier, made by Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, London, England, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Heurtley magnifier plus two boxes, one with Wollaston wires and one with quartz fibres, Muirhead and Company Limited, Beckenham, 1919. Ex Submarine Cable Exhibition, 1950.
This instrument was invented by E S Heurtley in 1909, and was widely used until the early 1940s, particularly by the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Commercial Cable Company, to magnify feeble electrical currents received over long-distance submarine cables. The electrical currents moves very thin wires (known as 'Wollaston wire') in and out of a hot air current, causing changes in the resistance of the wires. This unbalances the mechanism inside the magnifier, and creates higher currents which could then be used to relay the signal. It became obsolete when working valve amplifiers were introduced.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1950-278
- Materials:
- aluminium (metal), brass (copper, zinc alloy), glass, platinum (metal), quartz, silver (metal) and wood (unidentified)
- Measurements:
-
overall (Wollaston wires box): 61 mm x 320 mm x 21 mm,
overall (quartz fibres): 91 mm x 280 mm x 23 mm,
- type:
- amplifier
- taxonomy:
-
- furnishing and equipment
- tools & equipment
- credit:
- Donated by the Western Union Telegraph Company
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View 
manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.
