[Test-Equipment] History of test equipment!?!

[Brian A Clarke]

Hi Phil,

How far back do you want to go?

You could go back to the Greeks learning of the effect of rubbing 
amber - their word for amber is the basis of our modern word 
'electron'. How about Alessandro Volta's experiments? Michael 
Faraday's work with Leyden jars and electrometers? Georg Simon 
Ohm's work? d'Arsonval's work in developing the moving coil 
meter? Joseph Priestley, Crooke and Geissler on CRTs? You may 
want to chase up Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Stephen 
Hawking on gravity - as most electrical measures depend on 
measurement of a force that ultimately is compared with gravity.

I think you need to be very specific. Start with a specific type of 
measurement, try Google and Yahoo, look at wankipedia if you 
must; take a huge pinch of salt with all you find. Then start 
looking in the learned journals - IREE, IEEE and the Proceedings 
of various conferences. Also have a look at the work pouring out 
of Standards Laboratories around the world.

This kind of research is best done by trained librarians, AFTER 
you give them a specific brief - and then get it written up by 
professional technical writers. Unfortunately, too many 
professional measuring instruments firms shoot themselves in the 
foot when they let techos or engineers write material for world-
wide consumption. Enthusiasm is no substitute for accurate, well-
presented, properly formatted prose designed for a specific 
purpose, medium and audience. [Marketing 101]

73 de Brian, VK2GCE.