A Brief History And Overview Of The Accelerometer

The accelerometer is a fascinating piece of innovation. In a quick few words, it measures it's own acceleration. This might be implicit in the word itself, however the machine is quite unique. In an exciting flurry, the accelerometer manages to blend a number of important concepts in physics, utilizing even Einstein's relativity, in order to fulfill it's function. Hopefully in the next few paragraphs, the creation of this brilliant device, and it's uses, will become evident.

Although it is not necessarily absolute truth- for the facts are slightly obscure in this issue- it seems that this device was created sometime in the late 1920s, maybe early 1930s. There was a similar type of machinery that was invented much earlier (1700s), however it is less related to today's models, and for that reason will not be discussed. Not long after 1930, the invention was commercialized and marketed furiously in the United States, as well as Europe. It was at this point that engineers and scientists began thinking of new applications and uses for this machine, sparking advancements in many fields. They are still used all over the place today.

The basic structure of this device is as follows. The interior holds a mass on a spring. When the entire system accelerates, the mass is displaced, compressing the spring, which can then be used to calculate the acceleration. This is, however, only a very basic understanding of how they work. There are far more advanced and complicated mechanisms today, which have all kinds of subtle differences, catering to specific needs.

So far, the discussion has been about their history, and how they are made. But how are they actually used? Well, part of the interest in this machine is that fact that they can be used in many, almost limitless, ways. They have applications from engineering through medicine, and even transport. It would be impossible to discuss every application, but the following few paragraphs will discuss the main fields which use them.

In engineering the ability to measure acceleration is extremely useful in vehicle design and construction. They are vastly important on internal mechanisms such as braking. They are even used in devices which can measure the activity of seismic plates. In other words, they can measure earthquake activity. These are just some aspects of engineering application.

Another prominent field is biology. It may seem strange at first, but the use of measuring acceleration is growing rapidly in this field. Measuring the manner and ability of animals' accelerations lead to new explanations as to their anatomy, and of course biology. Their abilities to move are of great interest to scientists and this particular application may prove invaluable.

The last field which will be discussed is perhaps the most interesting employment of the accelerometer. That is what can be called motion input. This is the area which measures acceleration in order to create the most realistic gaming systems, and other entertainment technologies. Many modern game systems which track the movement of the gamers use this device to great benefit. The advancement is really astounding, and the ability to measure the acceleration is absolutely vital to the technology's existence.

It is perhaps clear now, how important this breakthrough was. It is important to remember that this was an extremely brief history and over of the accelerometer. There are far more applications than discussed here, and far greater potentials. This device utilizes the greatest achievements of the greatest minds, it is no wonder that it's own legacy is just as great.


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