Spherometer
date: label: date made
content: ca 1906-1950
name: label: maker
content: Central Scientific Company
notes: label: Description
content: A spherometer is used primarily for measuring the curvature of objects such as lenses and curved mirrors. For further information about spherometers. This example is marked with the "Cenco" trademark of the Central Scientific Company of Chicago, founded in 1900. They manufactured and sold educational scientific apparatus. Their 1936 catalog describes this item as "Spherometer, Student Form" and lists experiments in several popular physics textbooks that can be performed with this instrument. This instrument includes a demonstration optical flat and a large double-convex lens. This particular setup was probably used by students to replicate the Newton's Rings experiment. This spherometer is small (3.5 inches in height) and has both a vertical scale and a horizontal scale on the disc. This spherometer sold for $4.50 in 1941. This spherometer was originally owned by Columbia University.
label: Description
content: Central Scientific Company, <I>Catalog</I> (1941): 1014.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Spherometers
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the Department of Physics, Columbia University
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2001.0162.04
label: catalog number
content: 2001.0162.04
label: accession number
content: 2001.0162
objectType: label: Object Name
content: spherometer
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (instrument material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (flat material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9.3 cm x 7 cm x 6.5 cm; 3 21/32 in x 2 3/4 in x 2 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall parts in box: 3 5/8 in x 6 1/2 in x 5 1/4 in; 9.2075 cm x 16.51 cm x 13.335 cm