Measurement hardware before the 19th century is reasonably well reported in historical works. More modern electrical devices have not been studied as extensively, presumably because of the high degree of understanding needed of the historian and because the artifacts and written information are not easy to locate.
This article provides a brief summary of the history of sensing, a working guide to dominant world collections of sensing apparatus, and an introductory guide to the literature available on sensing methods. It is intended as an aid to historical sensing technique research.
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