Measurement and Experimental technology
Measurement- and Experimental technology can link Communication and Computer Technology. Measurement technology has a long history and there have been nice and remarkable devices.
This picture shows some devices from the "experimental physics" area. You
will probably note the use of "natural" materials (wood, glass, metal) and the
well-designed very simplified interface that makes comprehension simple.
We will go into detail for some of the devices shown on the left.
Galvanometer
This is a remarkably functional, big and beautiful all-purpose measurement device made by Siemens & Halske (about 1905). At that time even simple objects of utulity were made lovely detailed. This device was used as auxiliary device for morsing purposes in the national administration of the German Empire.
This is only an example from the early measurement technique: any galvanometer from the 20s. The lovely, sumptuous and nice design of the appearance is unmistakable, althought it is only a simple customer equipment.
Until the invention of measurement amplifiers, measuring very small voltages
and currents was a big problem. To do that job, moving coil devices had to be
very sensitive. This was realized with a moving coil that was mounted on a
torsion wire. The reflecting mirror at the lower end of the wire was spotted by
a light ray, so the whole composition acts like a very long "light needle".
By this way very long needle lengths (multiple meters) could be simulated.
Such a galvanometer must be set up absolutely horizontally and vibration-free.
The Mirror Galvanometer by Hartmann & Braun is
a simple and functional demonstration model from the 1920s.
Cathode Ray Tubes
At the time where there was no television and no oscilloscope yet, the
Cathode Ray Tube was a sensation, especially at school. This was one of
the very first experiments where students could see that electrons have
almost no inertia, so they can be deflected easily at the presence of an
electric field.
This tube (with power supply on the left) from the German company
Loewe is an historical piece from the 1930s. It measures about
50 cm!
After the currency reform in West Germany, the production of mesurement devices got going again. This AEG oscilloscope was built in 1949. It seems to be an exact replica from an AEG device of the late thirties. It is equipped with steel tubes that were put on the German market at 1938. Neither the time base of the horizontal deflection nor the amplitude of the vertical deflection are callibrated by the manufacturer. To measure absolutely with this device, you always need reference sizes.
The "Physikalischen Werkstätten" (phsyical facilities), Phywe, have built this small oscilloscope for demonstration purposes that can be used to show the electromagnetic interaction of an electron beam in E/B fields. Since (CRT driven) television got a mass medium, these experiments were state-of-art at those days.
Radio engineering
With the NEVA radio technology system, students could do challenging experiments like measuring the wave lengths in the VHF area with the Lecher lines.
Digital experience system
This big white board is an experience system from Leybold from the early 1970s. At that time, the subject "digital electonics" was taught in the school. Students could set up logic systems like binary counters, full adders, flip-flops, multiplexer, etc. This was quite fascinating for students at that time. Today, in ordinary schools, there is no more time for electronics in the curriculars.
The world of electronical calculating
Calculating requires counting
Last but not least we show a composition of (frequency) counters from
different epoches. There are, among others, devices equipped with tubes (57
electron tubes) or discrete transistor logic (mostly germanium).
The different counting tubes (e.g. E1T or GC10B) and the very different
display types are quite impressive.