98 STANDARD ELECTRICAL DICTIONARY.

Calibration, Relative.

The determination of the law connecting the various indications of an

instrument, such as the deflections of the needle of a galvanometer,

with the relative causes; in the case of a galvanometer, the strength of

the currents or the electro-motive forces producing them directly or

indirectly.

Call Bell.

A bell rung by pressing a button or otherwise to call the attention of a

person in a distant place. They can be classified into a great variety

of types according to their uses or construction.

Call Button.

A push button used for ringing a call bell, sounding a buzzer, working

an annunciator and for similar purposes. (See Push Button.)

Synonym--Push Button.

Calling Drop.

In a telephone exchange or telegraph office a drop shutter annunciator,

which falls to call the attention of the operator, notifying him that

the line connected to such drop is to be connected to some other

circuit.

Calorie or Calory.

A practical unit of heat. There are two calories, respectively called

the great and the small calorie, or the kilogram and the gram calorie.

The first is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of

one kilogram of water one degree centigrade. The second is the quantity

of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one

degree centigrade.

Calorimeter.

An apparatus for measuring the quantity of heat evolved or produced by

or under different conditions. Dulong's water calorimeter consists of a

water jacket, and by the increase of temperature of the water and

enclosing vessels the amount of heat produced by anything in the inner

vessels is determined. The amount of ice a heated body will melt is

sometimes made the basis of a calorimeter. The expansion of a fluid, as

water, may be used. In the calorimeter shown in the cut the heat

produced in a conductor by the passage of an electric current is caused

to heat water whose temperature is shown by a thermometer immersed

therein. The increase of temperature and the weight of the water give

the basis for a determination of the heat produced by the current.

Knowing the resistance of the conductor immersed, the watts can be

calculated. This gives the bases for the determination of the

heat-equivalent of electric energy. This is but an imperfect

calorimeter, as it constantly would lose heat by the surrounding

atmosphere, and would cease to operate as a calorimeter when the water

was as hot as the wire normally would be, for then it would not absorb

all the heat.

Fig. 75. CALORIMETER.

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