An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An device consisting of four → resistances in series, used to determine the value of an unknown electrical
resistance when the other three resistances are known.

See also: Named after Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), British physicist, who extensively used the circuit (1843) but was not its inventor. Such an arrangement of four resistances was first used by Samuel Hunter Christie (1784-1865) in 1833; → bridge.