Unlike a traditional electroscope, the Charge Sensor can make quantitative measurements. Numerical measurements improve many electrostatics experiments, such as charging by induction, charging by friction, and charging by contact.

The sensor can also be used to measure charge polarity. An extremely high-impedance voltage sensor with a 0.01μF input capacitor makes these measurements possible. The sensor has two operating ranges and a zeroing switch to discharge the input capacitor.