The Fascinating Story of Keithley, The Cleveland Engineer Who Measured The Impossibly Small

How do you measure something as small as a single electron? In 1946, a brilliant MIT graduate and WWII veteran named Joseph Faber Keithley rented a tiny, leaky Cleveland workshop for just $8.50 a month to answer that exact question. Working entirely alone in a room without plumbing, he laid the foundation for an engineering empire that would push the boundaries of physical measurement. This video tells the fascinating story of Keithley Instruments. We explore the breakthrough of the Model 200 Electrometer—a device suggested by a visiting physics professor that solved a major industry flaw by measuring microscopic electrical charges without draining power from the tested circuit. From supplying high-precision gear to the U.S. military and NASA's early Space Race probes, to designing automated testers for the semiconductor boom, Keithley’s innovations shaped modern technology. But the true engineering miracle lies at the extreme edge of measurement. We dive deep into how Keithley engineers conquered ambient electrical noise to create the Model 6430 Sub-Femtoamp Remote SourceMeter. This device achieved an unimaginable sensitivity of one single *attoampere*—a scale where the machine is literally counting individual electrons passing through a wire in real time. This extreme precision continues to power breakthroughs in nanotechnology, superconductor research, and advanced smartphone battery testing today. Discover how a one-man workshop in a Cleveland alleyway grew to define the frontier of physical science, securing a legacy that lives on today under the Tektronix brand. If you enjoyed learning about the engineer who measured the impossibly small, please like the video and subscribe to the channel for more engineering history!