Arthur Claude Ruge Invention of Strain GaugeA strain gauge is a device used to measure strain on an object. Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which supports a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object by a suitable adhesive, such as cyanoacrylate. As the object is deformed, the foil is deformed, causing its electrical resistance to change. This resistance change, usually measured using a Wheatstone bridge, is related to the strain by the quantity known as the gauge factor. Arthur Claude RugeArthur Claude Ruge (July 28, 1905 April 3, 2000) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor who developed and pioneered the modern bonded wire resistance strain gauge. Ruge graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a mechanical engineering degree in 1925, and worked as a structural engineer for several years thereafter. He then earned his master's degree in civil engineering and a doctorate in engineering seismology from MIT. In 1932, Ruge joined the faculty of MIT, where he would spend the rest of his academic career, becoming America's first professor of engineering seismology.Invention of the Strain GaugeDuring the course of his seismic insulation research, Ruge discovered that he needed to measure the stress on the water tanks that was caused by the earthquakes, and so he set about devising a means for attaining this measurement. According to Ruge, he had a Eureka moment on April 3, 1938 when the invention just popped into my mind, whole. I could see it clearly and knew that it would work. His solution was to glue a piece of cigarette paper on the tank and glue a small wire with end connections to the paper 4. Ruge and his assistants quickly developed this rudimentary device [2] into the more advanced version that would later be patented. In 1939, Arthur Ruge and Alfred de Forest, a colleague from MIT and fellow inventor, founded a company, Ruge Consulting.