The Kinnersley's Thermometer was an apparatus designed to demonstrate the heating power of an electric spark by showing the expansion of air when an electric spark is passed through it. Physical Description: Glass tube with brass base and top,...
Thermodynamics--Experiments; Scientific apparatus and instruments
The brass ball will just pass through a brass ring when cold, but when the ball is heated in boiling water it expands so that it no longer passes through the ring. The ball and ring demonstration of heat expansion has been in use since the early...
The Goniometer is an instrument for measuring the angles of crystals by observing the direction of a beam of light reflected from their face. The instrument was invented by W.H. Wollaston in 1807. Physical Description: Round brass base with black...
Electric discharges; Scientific apparatus and instruments
When connected to a power source, a bright electric spark would flash between the two ends of the two outer posts. The middle glass post is made of photo gray glass (yellow tinted glass), which would have glowed. This instrument is visible in early...
Scientific apparatus and instruments; Optical instruments
This device was used with a prism to demonstrate the seven colors of the specturm present in a beam of sunlight: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Physical Description: Seven movable mirrors, pivoted on brass holders, set in an...
Scientific apparatus and instruments; Santa Clara University (Calif.); Thermodynamics--Experiments;
The brass ball will just pass through a brass ring when cold, but when the ball is heated in boiling water it expands so that it no longer passes through the ring. The ball and ring demonstration of heat expansion has been in use since the early...
Electric discharges; X-ray tubes; Scientific apparatus and instruments
This instrument appears to be an early type of vacuum discharge tube or x-ray tube. The glass tube contains metal electrodes that have been sealed and from which the air has been removed by a vacuum system. Physical Description: Glass bulb with...
Scientific apparatus and instruments; Optical instruments
The spherometer was used to measure the curvature of lenses. Physical Description: In mahogany case with sliding lid. Calibrated brass disk on three legs.
David Brewster, creator of Brewster's Law, patented this device in 1817. It consisted of a long, hollow tube containing two glass mirrors running along the length of the tube and separated from each other at an angle of 60 degrees. Where mirrors...
Galvanometer; Scientific apparatus and instruments
A galvanometer is an instrument used to measure the presence, direction, and strength of small electric currents in a conductor. A magnetic needle is deflected by the presence of an electric current in a nearby conductor. The needle turns at right...
Scientific apparatus and instruments; Steam engines
The Eolypile (or aeolipile) is a metal sphere attached to a chariot half-filled with water and nested up to allow steam to build up. The steam is then allowed to escape in a jet making the chariot move. Physical Description: Brass 'cart' with three...
Scientific apparatus and instruments; Camera lucida;
An artist's aid for drawing, the camera Lucida was a portable device that was used to reproduce visual images on to paper. An adjustable prism mounted on the end of a supporting arm reflects the surrounding light and produces the image onto the...
