From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Letter from Cambridge Instrument Company regarding the cost and sensitivity of an accelerometer.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 138\2\ scan0104 | |
| Date | 17th March 1937 | |
| TELEGRAMS: INSTRUMENT, CAMBRIDGE. CODES: A B.C. (5TH AND 6TH EDITIONS). WESTERN UNION; BENTLEY'S. TELEPHONE: CAMBRIDGE No. 4415. CAMBRIDGE INSTRUMENT COMPANY, LIMITED. HEAD OFFICE AND SHOWROOMS: 45, GROSVENOR PLACE, LONDON, S.W.1. WORKS: LONDON AND CAMBRIDGE. MANUFACTURERS OF MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS OF PRECISION. YOUR REF. Rny/Gry{Shadwell Grylls}15/R... CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND. IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE... CGM/IGB. 17th March, 1937. Messrs. Rolls-Royce, Ltd., Derby. Dear Sirs, For the attention of Mr. Grylls. I have your letter of the 15th March. You are correct, we have spent a good deal of time on making the accelerometer but the problem interested me, so you can assume that we did this for our own amusement and we do not intend to charge you with the cost. However, if we had to make another instrument like the one you have, on the cost, we should be selling it very cheaply if we price it at £7..7..0. If, therefore, you settle to keep the instrument, this will be our charge to you for it. Certainly the instrument is sensitive to tilt in the fore and aft direction but I am assuming that the car in practice will be practically horizontal as you will not be driving it uphill. Although sensitive to level in this direction it should not be affected by acceleration, so changes in speed of the car will not affect the accuracy of the reading. This seems to me to be the important point so I trust you will find the gauge satisfactory. We realise of course that anything in the nature of a liquid gauge has disadvantages, but this seems the only way of making a really practical instrument at a | ||