What instruments did gauss use to measure flux / electric fields?

AI Thread Summary
Gauss's law states that the electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the enclosed electric charge, but Gauss himself did not use any measuring devices to derive this law, as it is a mathematical result based on Coulomb's Law. The discussion highlights that while Gauss's law can be derived from Coulomb's law, the latter predates Gauss's work. Participants express curiosity about the historical measurement techniques used to validate these theories, particularly regarding charge and flux. The conversation emphasizes the foundational nature of Coulomb's law in the development of Gauss's law. Overall, the thread clarifies the relationship between these two fundamental principles of electromagnetism.
robinhood20
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Gauss equations state that the flux of a gaussian surface is equal to the sum of all the electric field times the surface area.

Although he stated this in theory, how was he able to prove it possible. What measuring device do people use to prove that this theory is correct?
 
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It's a purely mathematical result derived from Coulomb's Law. Gauss did not make any measurements to arrive at it.
 
I thought Coulomb's law was just a special case of gauss law.

I am pretty sure they had to have had used something to measure the charge of an object and its flux to come up with the permittivity constant and etc.
 
robinhood20 said:
I thought Coulomb's law was just a special case of gauss law.
Coulomb's law was known long before gauss's law.
 

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