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This is something we’ve been waiting a very long time for. The Church of Scientology uses devices called E-Meters to measure Thetans in the body. We’re not going to discuss this further, because we don’t want to be murdered. In reality, the E-Meter is simply a device that costs five thousand dollars and only measures the resistance of the human body. It does this by having the subject hold two copper cylinders and a simple Wheatstone bridge. Why does the E-Meter cost five thousand dollars? As [Play With Junk] found out, it’s an exquisitely engineered piece of hardware.
[...] What’s most impressive is the quality of the components that go into a machine that effectively only measures the resistance of the human body. The ‘trim’ pot is a Vishay wire-wound precision potentiometer that costs somewhere between $20 and $60. The power switch is an over-specced switch that probably costs $5. The control pots look and feel great, and the wiring is wrapped around chokes.
Is it powered by Thetans? Because that would be awesome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @04:29PM (3 children)
No. Try measuring precision resistance or voltage of an electronic part with an analog volt/ohm meter and a digital volt/ohm meter (DVOM) and you'll get different results. Precise measurements can only be made with a high impedance meter, usually a DVOM.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Acabatag on Sunday July 22 2018, @05:42PM
Precise measurements can be made with any reasonably high resolution digital ohm-meter.
Accurate, and precise measurements can be made with a high resolution analog bridge, say one from ESI, Fluke, General Radio, or the holy grail, Guildline.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday July 22 2018, @06:07PM (1 child)
I wanna be informative too. The Whetstone bridge is commonly used for babby's first DC electronics project to use a thermistor and make a thermostat. In more advanced applications, it's used with strain gauges to measure torsion and other forces on solid objects.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @08:10AM
I understand the basic design is derived from the Thompson-Metrigraph Psychogalvanometer, one of the first "Lie Detectors" to hit the market.
They renamed some of the controls, and updated it to solid-state.
You can find the schematics of the thing on the web, and some pretty good op-amp based circuit replacements.
Basically, what they are looking for is very minute *changes* in resistance between the cans you hold. It is a bridge circuit, where the "TA" adjustment is the reference leg of the bridge, and there are various knobs to set ranges and gains, and appeared to me to be designed more a theatrical prop than an actual measurement device, but the whole idea of the thing seemed to be to keep people awed as the auditor convinces the non-cleared that the machine accurately measures the status of the new inductee being cleared.
The auditor can set the thing up so the needle is swinging all over the place at the slightest movement you make. You may even be allowed to see the meter moving, but from what I could see, it was theater, purposely designed to make you think the auditor knows something you do not. I got the idea the auditor auditing me had not the foggiest idea of what he had, technically. It was like asking a kid playing a record player how to set the bias on a 6L6.
If I had my guess as to the real purpose of the device, it is a psychological prop intended to intimidate and convince someone that something's wrong with them, and someone else who is smarter than they are can fix them, for a fee. Same thing other lie detectors do... intimidate and scare the bejeebies out of people, hoping the added stress, and elements of uncertainty the device introduces will intimidate the testee into revealing information that he may otherwise keep back.
I got tested once on one during a setup at the local mall... however, as an engineer, I was far more interested in the device than the religion. I frustrated them so much they kicked me out before completing the tests.
From what I could tell too, after further research, its best not to get mixed up with these folk... they seem pretty controlling and don't like it much if you join then leave when you discover whats going on. Other people tell me they have enforcement arms in place to "convince" you to stay... and fenced compounds to keep you there [duckduckgo.com].