Electric Manufacturing Company Gold-Leaf Electroscope (ca. 1900-1920)

A nice example of a gold leaf electroscope of brass construction. The cylindrical chamber is 4" in diameter and the entire unit is 12" tall. The interior of the chamber is painted black.

As seen in the above photograph, the manufacturer's name, the Electric Manufacturing Company of Troy, New York, is engraved on the body.

It employs a single gold leaf (a fragment of which remains) attached at the top to a brass lead-in. The insulator for the lead-in is synthetic amber. The gold leaf could be viewed without the aid of a microscope through the side of the chamber with the large beveled glass plate (photograph above right). Alternatively, it could be observed through a microscope attached to the side of the chamber with the small window—knobs for mounting the microscope are located on either side of the window (photograph above left).

Donated by the University of Kansas courtesy of Michael Lemon.