Design, construction and testing of an improvised tangent galvanometer

• Main Author: Rabena, Leopoldo Rafanan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1987
• Subjects: Galvanometer > Design and construction
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1199
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study was conducted for the design, construction and testing of an improvised tangent galvanometer with a dip needle used as a magnetic compass. The improvised apparatus was designed independently from that of the standard equipment. It was constructed from locally available materials such as aluminun sheet, copper wire, tupperware cover and Rubie blades. The experiment was conducted at several places selected in Luzon (North of Manila). Catholic churches were chosen as places of experimentation because they were built with less steel structures and offer safer stay for strangers. The experimental results obtained with the improvised apparatus were compared with the standard values as provided by the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey. The same data were also compared with the values obtained with the standard tangent galvanometer. The results showed that there is no significant difference between the standard equipment and the improvised apparatus in measuring the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field. The results also showed that there is no significant difference between the experimental and the accepted values of the vertical and horizontal components of the earth's magnetic field. Since the standard tangent galvanometer only measures the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field, the results show that the improvised apparatus has an advantage over the standard equipment because the improvised one measures both horizontal and vertical components of the earth's magnetic induction. Based from the above analysis therefore, the improvised tangent galvanometer is effective in measuring the horizontal and vertical components of the earth's magnetic induction. Moreover, it is capable of indicating the direction of the resultant magnetic field of the earth as measured by the angle of dip.