Galvanometer — Physics Project

PHYSICS PROJECT REPORT

GALVANOMETER
Principle, Construction, Working, Sensitivity and Conversion into Ammeter & Voltmeter

Submitted by: ______________________

Class / Roll No.: ______________________
Subject: Physics
Guided by: ______________________
School / College: ______________________

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 Galvanometer — Physics Project

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled “GALVANOMETER”
has been successfully completed by Prakhar Mahashwari of Class 12
of [Link] Senior Secondary School as part of the Physics
curriculum for the academic year 2026-27 . The work embodied in
this project is a record of genuine study and investigation carried out
by the student under my guidance and supervision.

The project has been found satisfactory and is hereby approved for
submission and evaluation.

Teacher's Signature Examiner Principal

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 Galvanometer — Physics Project

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Physics
teacher for their invaluable guidance, encouragement, and
support throughout the completion of this project on the
“Galvanometer”. Their insightful suggestions helped me
understand the subject in far greater depth.
I also extend my thanks to the school/college laboratory staff
for allowing me to observe and handle the actual instrument,
which enriched my practical understanding of the working
principle discussed in this report.
Finally, I am grateful to my parents and friends for their
constant motivation and support during the preparation of
this project.
Name: Prakhar Maheshwari
Date:

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 Galvanometer — Physics Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction........................................................................1
2. Historical Background.........................................................2
3. Underlying Principle...........................................................3
4. Construction.......................................................................4
5. Working of a Moving Coil Galvanometer............................5
6. Theory and Derivation of the Torque Equation..................6
7. Current Sensitivity and Voltage Sensitivity.........................7
8. Figure of Merit....................................................................8
9. Types of Galvanometers.....................................................9
10. Conversion of Galvanometer into an Ammeter..............11
11. Conversion of Galvanometer into a Voltmeter..............12
12. Difference Between Galvanometer, Ammeter and
Voltmeter..............................................................................13
13. Factors Affecting Sensitivity............................................14
14. Applications of Galvanometer........................................15
15. Advantages and Limitations............................................16
16. Precautions While Using a Galvanometer......................16
17. Conclusion......................................................................17
18. Bibliography....................................................................18

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INTRODUCTION
A galvanometer is a sensitive electromechanical instrument
used to detect and measure very small electric currents in a
circuit. The name is derived from the Italian scientist Luigi
Galvani, who is regarded as one of the pioneers of the study
of electric current in the late eighteenth century. Unlike an
ammeter or a voltmeter, which are calibrated to give a direct
numerical reading of current or voltage, a basic galvanometer
is primarily a null-detecting instrument — it indicates the
presence, direction and relative magnitude of a current by
the deflection of a pointer or a spot of light on a scale.
The working of every galvanometer is based on the
fundamental fact that a current-carrying coil, when placed in
a magnetic field, experiences a torque. This torque causes
the coil (or a magnet, depending on the type of
galvanometer) to rotate, and the amount of rotation is
proportional to the current flowing through the coil. Because
of this direct and highly sensitive relationship between
current and deflection, the galvanometer forms the heart of
many other electrical measuring instruments; with suitable
modifications it can be converted into an ammeter (to
measure larger currents) or into a voltmeter (to measure
potential difference).

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Galvanometers are widely used in laboratories, in bridge

circuits (such as the Wheatstone bridge and potentiometer),
in analogue multimeters, and in numerous scientific and
industrial measuring instruments. Even though modern
digital instruments have largely replaced the pointer-type
galvanometer for everyday use, the underlying moving-coil
principle continues to be taught as a foundation of
electromagnetism and is still used in specialised, highly
sensitive measurements.
This project presents a detailed study of the galvanometer —
its historical background, principle of operation, construction,
theory, types, sensitivity, and its conversion into an ammeter
and a voltmeter, along with its practical applications,
advantages and limitations.

[Link] BACKGROUND
The story of the galvanometer begins with the observations
of Luigi Galvani (1737–1798), an Italian physician and
physicist, who noticed that the muscles of a dissected frog
twitched when touched by two different metals connected in
a circuit. Although Galvani interpreted this phenomenon in
biological terms as “animal electricity”, his experiments drew
wide attention to the existence of electric currents produced
by chemical means.

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It was Hans Christian Ørsted who, in 1820, discovered that an

electric current produces a magnetic field — he observed
that a compass needle placed near a current-carrying wire is
deflected. This discovery of electromagnetism provided the
essential physical basis on which a current-detecting
instrument could be built.
Soon after Ørsted's discovery, Johann Schweigger (1820)
devised the first practical current-detecting device, called the
“multiplier”, by winding a wire many times around a compass
needle to increase the magnetic effect of a small current.
André-Marie Ampère and others further refined such
instruments. By the mid-nineteenth century, these current
detectors were being called “galvanometers” in honour of
Galvani's pioneering experiments.
A major advance came in 1882 when Jacques-Arsène
d'Arsonval, along with Marcel Deprez, developed the moving-
coil galvanometer, in which a light coil of wire suspended in
the field of a permanent magnet carries the current, instead
of a fixed coil acting on a movable magnet. This d'Arsonval-
type (also called the permanent-magnet moving-coil, or
PMMC) design proved to be far more accurate, robust and
less sensitive to external magnetic disturbances than the
earlier moving-magnet types, and it remains the basis of
most analogue pointer instruments used even today,

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including the later, more rugged Weston (pivoted-coil)

galvanometer developed by Edward Weston.

2. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE
The galvanometer works on the principle that when a
current-carrying coil is placed in a uniform magnetic field, it
experiences a torque (a turning effect) whose magnitude is
directly proportional to the strength of the current flowing
through the coil. This is essentially an application of the
motor effect — the same principle that makes an electric
motor rotate.
When current I flows through a rectangular coil of N turns
and area A, placed in a magnetic field of flux density B, each
side of the coil carrying current experiences a force given by F
= BIL, where L is the length of the side. Because the two
forces on the opposite sides of the coil are equal, parallel and
oppositely directed, they constitute a couple, which produces
a deflecting torque given by:
τ = NIAB sinθ
where θ is the angle between the plane of the coil and the
direction of the magnetic field. In practical moving-coil
galvanometers, the coil moves in a radial magnetic field
(produced by using curved pole pieces and a soft-iron
cylindrical core), so that the plane of the coil always remains

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parallel to the field, i.e., θ = 90° at every position of rotation.

Hence sinθ = 1, and the deflecting torque simplifies to:
τ = NIAB
This torque tends to rotate the coil. As the coil rotates, a hair-
spring (or the suspension itself, in a suspended-coil type) is
twisted and sets up a restoring (controlling) torque
proportional to the angle of deflection φ, given by kφ, where
k is the torsional constant of the spring/suspension. The coil
comes to rest in a position where the deflecting torque is
balanced by the restoring torque, i.e., NIAB = kφ, so that the
steady deflection φ is directly proportional to the current I.
This linear relationship between current and deflection is
what makes the moving-coil galvanometer scale uniform and
easy to calibrate.

Fig. 2: Deflecting, controlling and damping torques acting on

the coil

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4. CONSTRUCTION
The most common and practically important form of the
instrument is the moving-coil (d'Arsonval/Weston type)
galvanometer. Its main constructional parts are as follows:

4.1 Permanent Horseshoe Magnet

A strong, permanent horseshoe-shaped magnet provides the
uniform magnetic field required for the working of the
instrument. Curved pole pieces are attached to the magnet
so that the field lines converge radially towards the axis of
rotation of the coil.

4.2 Soft-Iron Cylindrical Core

A fixed soft-iron cylinder is mounted between the pole
pieces, concentric with the coil. It concentrates the magnetic
lines of force and, in combination with the curved pole
pieces, produces a radial field, which ensures that the plane
of the coil is always parallel to the field for any angle of
deflection. This is what makes the scale of the instrument
linear.

4.3 Rectangular Coil

A rectangular (or sometimes circular) coil of many turns of
fine, insulated copper wire is wound on a light aluminium
frame and mounted so that it can rotate freely around the
soft-iron core, in the narrow gap between the core and the

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pole pieces. The aluminium frame is not merely a support; its

presence causes electromagnetic damping (described below)
that helps the pointer to settle down quickly rather than
oscillating.

4.4 Suspension / Pivot and Hair-Springs

In the suspended-coil type, the coil is suspended by a thin
phosphor-bronze strip which also serves as one current lead,
with a flexible wire as the other lead; the suspension itself
provides the restoring torque. In the more rugged pivoted-
coil (Weston) type, the coil is mounted on a spindle
supported between two jewel bearings, and two hair-springs
(delicate spiral springs made of phosphor-bronze) are
attached above and below the coil. These springs serve a dual
purpose: they lead current into and out of the coil, and their
twisting produces the restoring (controlling) torque that
opposes the deflecting torque.

4.5 Pointer and Scale

A light aluminium pointer (or, in more sensitive laboratory
instruments, a small mirror that reflects a beam of light onto
a distant scale, called the lamp-and-scale or optical-lever
arrangement) is attached to the spindle. As the coil rotates,
the pointer moves over a graduated scale calibrated in
appropriate units, indicating the amount of deflection, which
is proportional to the current.

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4.6 Terminals
Two terminals are provided for connecting the galvanometer
into the external circuit whose current is to be detected or
measured.

5. WORKING OF A MOVING COIL

GALVANOMETER

When the terminals of the galvanometer are connected to a

circuit carrying a current, the current flows through the turns
of the rectangular coil suspended (or pivoted) in the radial
magnetic field of the permanent horseshoe magnet.
Because the coil lies in this magnetic field and carries a
current, each of its current-carrying sides experiences a force
in accordance with the motor effect. Since the forces on the
two opposite sides of the coil are equal in magnitude but
opposite in direction, they form a couple that exerts a
deflecting torque on the coil, tending to rotate it about its
vertical axis.
As the coil begins to rotate, the hair-springs (or the
suspension wire) attached to it get twisted, and this twisting
sets up an opposing, restoring torque that increases with the
angle of rotation. The coil continues to rotate until the
restoring torque exactly balances the deflecting torque
produced by the current. At this position, the coil (and hence

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the pointer attached to it) comes to rest, and the reading on

the scale gives a measure of the deflection, which — owing
to the radial field design — is directly proportional to the
current flowing through the coil.
When the current is switched off or reversed, the restoring
torque brings the coil back towards the zero position.
However, if there were no opposing effect other than the
spring, the coil would oscillate back and forth several times
about the zero/equilibrium position before finally settling
down, making the instrument slow and difficult to read. To
prevent this, the aluminium frame on which the coil is wound
moves through the magnetic field as the coil rotates; this
induces eddy currents in the frame (by Lenz's law), and these
eddy currents set up a damping torque that opposes the
motion of the coil. This is known as electromagnetic
damping. The value of the resistance of the frame and its
dimensions are chosen so that the system is “critically” or
“dead-beat” damped — the pointer moves quickly to its final
position and stays there, without any noticeable oscillation or
overshoot.
Reversing the direction of current flow reverses the direction
of the force on the coil sides and, therefore, the direction of
deflection; this is how a galvanometer indicates not just the
magnitude but also the direction of the current, which is why

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it is especially useful as a null-detector in bridge and

potentiometer circuits, where the aim is simply to detect
whether any current is flowing (and in which direction) rather
than measure its precise value.

6. THEORY AND DERIVATION OF THE

TORQUE EQUATION
Consider a rectangular coil PQRS of N turns, length l and
breadth b (so that its area A = l × b), carrying a current I,
placed in a uniform (radial) magnetic field of flux density B,
such that the plane of the coil is always parallel to B.
The force on each of the two sides of length l (say PQ and RS)
is F = BIl (for a single turn), directed so that the forces on the
two sides are equal, parallel and opposite, forming a couple.
For N turns, the total force on each side becomes F = NBIl.
The perpendicular distance between the two forces (the
moment arm) is the breadth b of the coil. Therefore, the
torque of this couple is:
τ = F × b = NBIl × b = NBIA
where A = l × b is the area enclosed by the coil. This is the
deflecting torque.
At equilibrium (steady deflection), this deflecting torque is
exactly balanced by the restoring torque exerted by the hair-
springs/suspension. Since the restoring torque of a spring is

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proportional to the angle of twist φ, we can write the

restoring torque as kφ, where k is called the torsional
constant (or torsional rigidity) of the spring/suspension —
the restoring torque per unit angular twist. Equating the two
torques at equilibrium:
NBIA = kφ
Rearranging this equation, we obtain the fundamental
working equation of the moving-coil galvanometer:
φ = (NBA / k) × I, i.e., I = (k / NBA) × φ = G × φ
Since N, B, A and k are all constants for a given instrument,
the deflection φ is directly proportional to the current I. This
is precisely why the scale of a moving-coil galvanometer with
a radial field is linear (evenly divided), which greatly simplifies
calibration and reading.

7. CURRENT SENSITIVITY AND VOLTAGE

SENSITIVITY
The sensitivity of a galvanometer describes how effectively it
responds to a small current or voltage — that is, how large a
deflection it produces for a given input. There are two
related but distinct measures of sensitivity:

7.1 Current Sensitivity

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Current sensitivity (Is) is defined as the deflection produced

in the galvanometer per unit current flowing through it. From
the working equation φ/I = NBA/k, we get:
Is = φ / I = NBA / k
A galvanometer is said to be more current-sensitive if it
shows a larger deflection for the same small current. From
the expression above, the current sensitivity can be increased
by increasing the number of turns N, the area A of the coil, or
the magnetic field B, and by decreasing the torsional
constant k of the suspension/spring.

7.2 Voltage Sensitivity

Voltage sensitivity (Vs) is defined as the deflection produced
per unit voltage applied across the galvanometer. If R is the
resistance of the galvanometer coil, then since V = IR, we
have:
Vs = φ / V = φ / (IR) = Is / R = NBA / (kR)
An important and somewhat counter-intuitive practical point
follows from this relation. If we try to increase the current
sensitivity of a galvanometer simply by increasing the
number of turns N, the resistance R of the coil also increases
proportionately (since more turns of wire mean a longer,
higher-resistance winding). As a result, the voltage sensitivity
Vs = NBA/(kR) may remain unchanged, or can even decrease,
even though the current sensitivity has increased. This shows

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that increasing current sensitivity does not necessarily

increase voltage sensitivity — the two must be considered
separately when designing a sensitive instrument.

8. FIGURE OF MERIT
The figure of merit (k) of a galvanometer is defined as the
current required to produce a deflection of one scale division
(or sometimes, one unit of deflection). It is, in effect, the
reciprocal of the current sensitivity:
Figure of merit, k = I / φ
A smaller figure of merit indicates a more sensitive
galvanometer, since a smaller current is then sufficient to
produce one division of deflection. The figure of merit is
usually determined experimentally, often using a half-
deflection method in the laboratory, where a known
resistance and a standard cell are used to pass a known small
current through the galvanometer and observe the resulting
deflection.

9. TYPES OF GALVANOMETERS

9.1 Moving-Coil Galvanometer

This is the most widely used type, described in detail above,
in which a coil carrying the current to be detected rotates in
the field of a fixed permanent magnet. It exists in two main
practical forms:

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● Suspended-coil (d'Arsonval) type — the coil is

suspended by a fine wire/strip; used for laboratory work
requiring very high sensitivity, since there is no friction
at pivots.
● Pivoted-coil (Weston) type — the coil is mounted on a
spindle between jewel bearings and controlled by hair-
springs; more robust, portable, and less sensitive to
shocks, though slightly less sensitive than the suspended
type because of pivot friction.

9.2 Moving-Magnet Galvanometer

In this older type, a small magnetic needle (rather than a coil)
is free to rotate, and it is deflected by the magnetic field
produced by the current flowing through a stationary coil
surrounding it, in accordance with the tangent law or similar
relations. Because the controlling torque here is provided by
the earth's own magnetic field (or by a control magnet), such
instruments are more susceptible to external magnetic
disturbances and are less accurate than the moving-coil type.

9.3 Tangent Galvanometer

A tangent galvanometer consists of a small compass needle
pivoted at the centre of a large circular coil of wire, mounted
vertically so that the plane of the coil lies along the magnetic
meridian. When a current flows through the coil, it produces
a magnetic field at the centre perpendicular to the plane of

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the coil; the needle then aligns itself along the resultant of
this field and the horizontal component of the earth's
magnetic field, coming to rest at an angle θ such that the
tangent of the angle of deflection is directly proportional to
the current — hence the name “tangent” galvanometer (I = K
tanθ, where K is a constant of the instrument). It is mainly
used for instructional and comparative current-measurement
purposes today.

9.4 Ballistic Galvanometer

A ballistic galvanometer is a specially designed moving-coil
galvanometer with a heavy coil (a large moment of inertia)
and negligible damping, used to measure the total charge
that flows through it during a brief transient current pulse
(such as the discharge of a capacitor or a sudden change of
flux through a coil), rather than a steady current. Because the
coil swings through and its first (throw) deflection is
proportional to the total charge passed, it is used in
experiments involving electromagnetic induction and the
measurement of mutual/self inductance.

9.5 AC Galvanometer
Ordinary moving-coil galvanometers cannot respond usefully
to a rapidly alternating current because the coil's inertia
prevents it from following the alternations, and the average
deflecting torque over a cycle tends to zero. Specially

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designed hot-wire or thermocouple-type galvanometers, or

those using rectification, are used where a response to
alternating current is required.

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10. CONVERSION OF GALVANOMETER INTO AN AMMETER

An ammeter must be connected in series in a circuit and
should ideally have a very low resistance so that it does not
appreciably change the current it is measuring. A bare
galvanometer, however, has a moderately high resistance (of
its coil) and can safely carry only a very small current before
its coil or springs are damaged. To convert a galvanometer
into an ammeter capable of reading much larger currents, a
small resistance called a shunt (S) is connected in parallel
with the galvanometer.
The shunt provides an alternative, low-resistance path for
the greater part of the current, allowing only a small, safe
fraction of the total current to pass through the
galvanometer coil, while the combination as a whole can
measure a much larger current. Connecting the shunt in
parallel also reduces the overall (effective) resistance of the
ammeter, since the galvanometer resistance G and the shunt
resistance S in parallel give a combined resistance lower than
either G or S alone — precisely the low resistance property
required of a good ammeter.

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Fig. 3: Galvanometer converted into an ammeter using a

shunt

10.1 Derivation of Shunt Resistance

Let G be the resistance of the galvanometer coil, and let it be
safe to pass a maximum current Ig through it (this is called
the full-scale deflection current of the galvanometer). Let I be
the total (maximum) current that we want the ammeter to
be able to measure, and S be the required shunt resistance
connected in parallel with the galvanometer.
Since the galvanometer and the shunt are in parallel, the
potential difference across both must be equal:
Ig × G = (I − Ig) × S
since the current through the shunt is the remaining current
(I − Ig) after Ig has passed through the galvanometer.
Rearranging for S:
S = (Ig × G) / (I − Ig)
This equation gives the value of the shunt resistance required
so that the combination reads full-scale when the total

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current is I, while the current through the delicate

galvanometer coil never exceeds its safe value Ig. Because S
is generally very small compared to G, the effective
resistance of the ammeter (G and S in parallel) becomes very
low, which is exactly the desirable property of an ideal
ammeter.

11. CONVERSION OF GALVANOMETER INTO A VOLTMETER

A voltmeter must be connected in parallel across the
component whose potential difference is to be measured,
and it should ideally have a very high resistance so that it
draws only a negligible current from the circuit and does not
disturb the quantity being measured. To convert a
galvanometer into a voltmeter capable of measuring a given
range of potential difference, a suitably high resistance (R) is
connected in series with the galvanometer coil.
This series resistance limits the current through the coil to a
small, safe value even when a relatively large voltage is
applied across the combination, and simultaneously
increases the total (effective) resistance of the instrument to
the high value required of a good voltmeter.

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Fig. 4: Galvanometer converted into a voltmeter using a high

series resistance

11.1 Derivation of Series Resistance

Let G be the resistance of the galvanometer, and Ig the
current required to produce full-scale deflection in it. Let V
be the maximum voltage we want the voltmeter to be able to
read, and R be the required series resistance.
Since the galvanometer and the resistance R are in series, the
same current Ig flows through both, and the sum of the
potential drops across G and R must equal the applied
voltage V:
V = Ig × (G + R)
Rearranging for R:
R = (V / Ig) − G
This gives the value of the series resistance that must be
added to the galvanometer so that the combination reads
full-scale (Ig through the coil) when the voltage across the
terminals of the instrument is exactly V. Since R is generally
very large compared to G, the resulting voltmeter has a high

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resistance, drawing very little current from the circuit under

test, as required of an ideal voltmeter.

12. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GALVANOMETER, AMMETER

AND VOLTMETER

Feature Galvanometer Ammeter Voltmeter

Presence,
Actual value
direction and Actual value
Quantity of potential
relative of current (in
indicated difference (in
magnitude of amperes)
volts)
current
Very low Very high
Moderate (coil
Resistance (shunt in (resistance in
resistance)
parallel) series)
Connection In series (as
In series In parallel
in circuit detector)
Usually zero at
Calibrated Calibrated
centre;
Scale directly in directly in
arbitrary
amperes volts
divisions
Low High
Modification None (basic resistance resistance
needed instrument) shunt added added in
in parallel series

13. FACTORS AFFECTING SENSITIVITY

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From the expression Is = NBA/k for current sensitivity, the

sensitivity of a moving-coil galvanometer can be increased by
suitably altering the following factors:
● Number of turns (N): Increasing the number of turns of
the coil increases the deflecting torque for a given
current, and hence increases sensitivity. However, this
also increases the resistance and weight of the coil.
● Magnetic field strength (B): Using stronger permanent
magnets, or reducing the air gap between the pole
pieces and the coil, increases B and hence the
sensitivity.
● Area of the coil (A): A larger coil area increases the
torque for a given current, but makes the instrument
bulkier and increases its moment of inertia (making it
slower to respond).
● Torsional constant (k) of the suspension/spring: Using a
suspension or hair-spring with a smaller torsional
constant (i.e., one that twists more easily) increases the
sensitivity, but if k is made too small the coil may take
too long to settle or may be too delicate mechanically.
In practice, the design of a sensitive galvanometer is
therefore always a compromise: increasing sensitivity by any
one of these means often comes at the cost of robustness,
response time, or ease of manufacture, and a good design
must balance all of these requirements simultaneously.

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14. APPLICATIONS OF GALVANOMETER

● Detecting the presence, magnitude and direction of
small electric currents in a circuit.
● Used as a null-deflection detector in a Wheatstone
bridge to measure unknown resistances.
● Used in a potentiometer circuit to compare e.m.f.s of
cells, and to measure internal resistance of a cell,
without drawing current from the source.
● Forms the basic element of analogue ammeters and
voltmeters, after appropriate conversion using shunts or
series resistances.
● Used in analogue multimeters (AVO meters) that
combine ammeter, voltmeter and ohmmeter functions
using a single moving-coil movement with different
scales and ranges.
● Ballistic galvanometers are used to measure charge in
experiments on electromagnetic induction, and to
measure capacitance and self/mutual inductance.
● Highly sensitive mirror (suspended-coil) galvanometers
are historically used in submarine telegraphy and in
sensitive scientific measurements requiring detection of
extremely small currents.

15. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

15.1 Advantages

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● Extremely sensitive; capable of detecting currents as

small as a few microamperes.
● Uniform (linear) scale in the radial-field moving-coil
design, which makes calibration and reading simple.
● Can be adapted, with simple external resistances, to
measure a wide range of currents and voltages
(ammeters and voltmeters of different ranges).
● Electromagnetic damping gives a quick, non-oscillatory
(dead-beat) response.
● Relatively simple and robust construction in the pivoted-
coil (Weston) form, suitable for portable instruments.

15.2 Limitations
● Being an analogue, mechanical instrument, it is subject
to friction (in pivoted types), wear of jewel bearings, and
ageing of springs, all of which can introduce errors over
time.
● Cannot, in its basic moving-coil form, be used directly to
measure alternating current, since the coil's inertia
prevents it from following rapid reversals.
● Delicate coil and suspension can be damaged if a current
larger than the rated safe value is passed through it.
● Sensitivity is affected by external magnetic fields,
temperature changes (which alter spring properties and
coil resistance), and mechanical shocks.

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● Largely superseded by digital measuring instruments in

most modern applications, which offer higher accuracy,
direct numerical read-out, and no moving parts.

16. PRECAUTIONS WHILE USING A GALVANOMETER

● Always connect the galvanometer in series with a
sufficiently high protective resistance while first testing
an unknown circuit, so as to avoid passing an excessive
current through the delicate coil.
● Never pass a current through the galvanometer that
exceeds its rated full-scale (safe) current.
● Keep the instrument away from strong external
magnetic fields and stray magnets, which can affect the
accuracy of deflection.
● Handle suspended-coil types very carefully, since the
fine suspension wire/strip can be easily damaged by
shocks or rough handling.
● Ensure the instrument is placed on a level, vibration-free
surface, and allow the pointer to settle before taking a
reading.
● Periodically check the zero setting of the pointer before
use, and adjust it if it does not read exactly zero with no
current flowing.

17. CONCLUSION

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The galvanometer is a foundational instrument in the study

of electricity and magnetism, embodying in a single device
the essential physics of the motor effect — the torque
experienced by a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field.
Through this project, we have examined how a simple,
elegant balance between a magnetically produced deflecting
torque and a mechanically produced restoring torque leads
to a device whose deflection is directly proportional to the
current passing through it, making a moving-coil
galvanometer both sensitive and easy to calibrate.
We have also seen how, by the simple addition of a low
shunt resistance in parallel or a high resistance in series, the
same basic instrument can be transformed into an ammeter
or a voltmeter of any desired range, illustrating a recurring
and valuable theme in physics and engineering: that a single,
well-understood principle can be adapted, with minor
modifications, to solve a whole family of related
measurement problems.
Although digital instruments have replaced the pointer-type
galvanometer in most everyday applications, the concepts
developed here — torque on a current loop, electromagnetic
damping, sensitivity, and the shunt/series-resistance method
of instrument conversion — remain central to the study of

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 Galvanometer — Physics Project

electromagnetism and to the design of measuring

instruments in general.

18. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. NCERT, Physics Textbook for Class XII, Part I & II, National
Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi.
2. Halliday, D., Resnick, R., and Walker, J., Fundamentals of
Physics, John Wiley & Sons.
3. Verma, H.C., Concepts of Physics, Volume 2, Bharati
Bhawan Publishers.
4. Griffiths, D.J., Introduction to Electrodynamics, Pearson
Education.
5. Encyclopaedia Britannica, entry on “Galvanometer”.
6. Class notes and laboratory manual, Physics Practical
Course.
7. Relevant open-access science and physics reference
websites consulted for historical background.

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