Ferrel Tide Predictor
date: label: Date made
content: 1883
label: Date made
content: 1880
label: used during
content: 1883-1910
name: label: maker
content: Fauth & Co.
label: designer
content: Ferrel, William
notes: label: Description
content: In 1872, the British physicist William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) devised a machine to simulate mechanically the combination of periodic motions that produce tides. Inspired by this example, William Ferrel of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey designed a tide predictor and had it built by the Washington, D.C., firm of Fauth and Company. This elegant machine was more compact than that of Thomson, and gave maxima and minima rather than a continuous curve as output. It was designed in 1880, went into service in 1883 and remained in use until 1910. The success of Ferrel's tide predictor suggested the feasibility of replacing calculations performed by people with computation by machines.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Mechanical Integrators and Analyzers
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transfer from U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.315917
label: catalog number
content: 315917
label: accession number
content: 223203
objectType: label: Object Name
content: harmonic synthesizer
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 62.2 cm x 46.5 cm x 34.3 cm; 24 1/2 in x 18 5/16 in x 13 1/2 in