Description

This object consists of a standard cell mounted onto a wood board with wires soldered to the battery’s terminals that are soldered to posts on the wooden board. The standard cell is tall and thin rectangular base with the two terminals on the top. The back has a paper label with four calibration stats written on it dated from 1969 and 1970.

Standard cells are batteries that provide a known and stable voltage and were used to calibrate electrical measurement instruments. The first standard cell was developed by Edward Weston in 1893, who invented a saturated cadmium cell that produced a stable and reproducible voltage. In 1903, Weston’s cell was adopted as the reference standard for voltage.