[Called after Sir Charles Wheatstone, who in 1843 brought into notice the ‘differential arrangement’ apparatus, which had been invented by S. Hunter Christie in 1833.] Short for Wheatstone(’s) bridge: an apparatus for measuring electrical resistances.
1872. Jrnl. Soc. Telegr. Eng., 8 May, 196. A Differential Resistance Measurer,—or, as it is commonly called, a ‘Wheatstone’s Bridge.’
1885. Watson & Burbury, Math. Th. Electr. & Magn., I. 221. The principle of the instrument known as Wheatstone’s Bridge.
1898. Daily News, 21 May, 7/4. The clicking of the needles, the tapping of the Wheatstones.
