Figure 4
Make a wood base for your coil as shown in Figure 4. The compass support blocks can be thin wood slats. Do not attach them with steel nails or tacks. Use glue instead. Hold the coil in the slot between the blocks with glue or melted wax or use copper staples. Place the compass on the supports and rotate the base so that the compass needle and coil are parallel, pointing north and south.
Measure the Voltage of Batteries
Do you know what difference the size of dry cell battery makes in the voltage it supplies? Your meter can tell you.
To test the voltage of batteries we must be able to control our galvanoscope. To do this, connect a glass of strong salt water in series with the battery as shown in Figure 5. Make sure the wire ends immersed in the salt water are scraped free of enamel.
Figure 5
With one of the batteries connected, move the wires in the salt water first closer, then farther apart (keeping them parallel to each other) while watching your compass needle. When the needle stays 15 to 20 degrees off north, lock the wires in the salt solution in place with paper clips.
Now disconnect the battery you have been using and connect a smaller battery. If both batteries are fresh, the compass needle should return to almost the same spot. This proves that both batteries regardless of size put out the very same voltage. The larger ones, however, are designed to last longer.