electrometer n : meter to measure electrostatic voltage differences; draws no current from the source

English

Noun

1. A device used to detect and measure static electricity; an electroscope
2. A precision voltmeter that draws almose no current from the circuit

An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or electrical potential difference. There are many different types, ranging from historical hand-made mechanical instruments to high-precision electronic devices. Modern electrometers based on vacuum tube or solid state technology can be used to make voltage and charge measurements with very low leakage currents, down to 1 femtoampere. A simpler but related instrument, the electroscope, works on similar principles but only indicates the relative magnitudes of voltages or charges.

Simple charge indicating device

• Radiation
• Faraday cup electrometer

External links

• Build this FET electrometer - A very simple circuit - 2 components
• Simple FET electrometer - A simple bridged circuit
• An op-amp electrometer
• Early electrometers
• Charging an Electroscope by Induction Using a Negatively-Charged Balloon from Multimedia Physics Studios