Australia's Science Forum

Does anyone know what Wheatstone bridges are/were used for? None of our current teachers think they will use them so I'm hoping to get rid of them. Sorry I tried to attach a photo but it was too large.

The Wheatstone bridge is an electrical bridge circuit used to measure resistance. It consists of a common source of electrical current (such as a battery) and a galvanometer or a multimeter that connects two parallel branches, containing four resistors, three of which are known.

Probably the most common use of a Wheatstone Bridge in your environment will be a lot of the electronic balances you have.
Many of them have a Tare cell, which is an aluminum block with the four resistors fitted in such a way that when you put something on the balance's pan it distorts the aluminum block which alters the values of the resistors. The electronics monitors this change and converts into grams!

Harvey - tech to the techies!

Is it these things Rosalie ? .
Dragged out from the back of the Physics cupboard. Couple of variations , but they all do the same thing . There's a piece of Nichrome wire on the ruler . No ones ever asked for them while I've been here

yes bigmack, ours are slightly different but essentially the same thing. I think I will toss them. I just wanted to check there wasn't one random prac they came out for in an obscure topic area before I ditch them. I feel like I should offer them to a museum!

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 08:13 yes bigmack, ours are slightly different but essentially the same thing. I think I will toss them. I just wanted to check there wasn't one random prac they came out for in an obscure topic area before I ditch them. I feel like I should offer them to a museum!

And the minute you do that, there will be a change in the curriculum

probably someone that appreciates Steampunk stuff would love them

We have 12..use them every year in Physics, depends on your physics teachers I think. Ours have about 5 strands of wire up and down them Different diameters so we know the resistance they should get but the students don't.

Merilyn1 wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 08:39

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 08:13 yes bigmack, ours are slightly different but essentially the same thing. I think I will toss them. I just wanted to check there wasn't one random prac they came out for in an obscure topic area before I ditch them. I feel like I should offer them to a museum!

And the minute you do that, there will be a change in the curriculum

Yes I was thinking I should keep one of them in case that happens - at least we would have one for a teacher demo!

bigmack wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:04 probably someone that appreciates Steampunk stuff would love them

Where would I find such a person? (Or is that a joke that flew over my head??)

Anna Z wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:54 We have 12..use them every year in Physics, depends on your physics teachers I think. Ours have about 5 strands of wire up and down them Different diameters so we know the resistance they should get but the students don't.

Would you mind finding out what topic it is in?

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 10:07

bigmack wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:04 probably someone that appreciates Steampunk stuff would love them

Where would I find such a person? (Or is that a joke that flew over my head??)

Not a joke Rosalie. Steampunk is quite a passion for some folk . They love old school Wood,brass,copper Leather etc . Some are quite artistic with it .
Not sure where , but maybe there's a Steampunk Forum that you could let them know about these and probably a whole lot of other old stuff we have in our cupboards that never get used.

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 10:08

Anna Z wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:54 We have 12..use them every year in Physics, depends on your physics teachers I think. Ours have about 5 strands of wire up and down them Different diameters so we know the resistance they should get but the students don't.

Would you mind finding out what topic it is in?

Note Anna is in Victoria , their Syllabus is different to NSW.

I wish I had seen this before they came home to my shed. We would use them for sure. The kids love using different and interesting equipment. Hopefully I can retrieve them.

bigmack wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 10:35

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 10:07

bigmack wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:04 probably someone that appreciates Steampunk stuff would love them

Where would I find such a person? (Or is that a joke that flew over my head??)

Not a joke Rosalie. Steampunk is quite a passion for some folk . They love old school Wood,brass,copper Leather etc . Some are quite artistic with it .
Not sure where , but maybe there's a Steampunk Forum that you could let them know about these and probably a whole lot of other old stuff we have in our cupboards that never get used.

RosalieL wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 10:08

Anna Z wrote: ↑09 Mar 2023, 09:54 We have 12..use them every year in Physics, depends on your physics teachers I think. Ours have about 5 strands of wire up and down them Different diameters so we know the resistance they should get but the students don't.

Would you mind finding out what topic it is in?

Note Anna is in Victoria , their Syllabus is different to NSW.

Ahh, thank you! I hadn't noticed the different state... I will set them aside and see if I can find a taker. Otherwise, if there's anyone in Vic who wants some, let me know. I can probably send them and you just pay the postage.

Each one is a basically a Rheostat. You need two to make a wheatstone bridge .
Could do same thing with normal Rheostats .