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Cavendish Laboratory : Maxwell's apparatus to measure the ratio of electrostatic to electromagnetic units (1863)

Cavendish Laboratory

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Photograph of Maxwell's 1863 apparatus to measure the ratio of electrostatic to electromagnetic units. This is the torsion balance arm only. One disc was subject to an electrostatic potential difference which was balanced by the repulsion of a pair of current carrying coils (see diagram in Peter Harman's 'Natural Philosopy of James Clark Maxwell'). Any imbalance caused a deflection of the torsion balance. Maxwell's results agreed with those of Weber and Kohlrausch and with the measured value of the speed of light.</p>

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