amperes, which is considerably below the range of the most sensitive galvanometer.
The capacity of the electrometer itself must not be considered as equal to that of the pair of quadrants and the needle when in a position of rest. The actual capacity is very much larger than this, on account of the motion of the charged needle. Suppose, for example, that the needle is charged to a high negative potential, and kept at the zero position by an external constraint. If a quantity Q of positive electricity is given to the electrometer and its connections, the whole system is raised to a potential V, such that Q = CV, where C is the capacity of the system. When however the needle is allowed to move, it is attracted into the charged pair of quadrants. This corresponds to the introduction of a negatively charged body between the quadrants, and in consequence the potential of the system is lowered to V´. The actual capacity C´ of the system when the needle moves is thus greater than C, and is given by
C´V´ = CV.
Thus the capacity of the electrometer is not a constant, but depends on the potential of the needle, i.e. on the sensibility of the electrometer.
An interesting result of practical importance follows from the variation of the capacity of the electrometer with the potential of the needle. If the external capacity attached to the electrometer is small compared with that of the electrometer itself, the rate of movement of the needle for a constant current is, in some cases, independent of the sensibility. An electrometer may be used for several days or even weeks to give nearly equal deflections for a constant current, without recharging the needle, although its potential has been steadily falling during the interval. In such a case the decrease in sensibility is nearly proportional to the decrease in capacity of the electrometer, so that the deflection for a given current is only slightly altered. The theory of this action has been given by J. J. Thomson[1].
68. The capacity of the electrometer and its connections
cannot be measured by any of the commutator methods used for
the determination of small capacities, for in such cases the needle
- ↑ J. J. Thomson, Phil. Mag. 46, p. 537, 1898.
