Hipp Chronoscope
date: label: date made
content: late 1880s
notes: label: Description
content: A chronoscope is a sophisticated clock that measures minute intervals of time. The “M. Hipp / Neuchatel, Suisse / N. 13184” inscription on the dial of this example refers to Matthäus Hipp, a German clockmaker who settled in Switzerland during the political turmoil of 1848, and retired in 1889. The double electromagnet at the top is a feature that Hipp introduced in 1875.The serial number indicates a date in the 1880s.
label: Description
content: With the opening of the U.S. National Museum in 1881, the Smithsonian took on the task of teaching visitors about technologies, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated, from cultures around the world. It was in this context that the Smithsonian acquired a Hipp chronoscope that could “cut a second into five hundred parts.” An 1891 account of the Museum displays noted that the chronoscope was located near a Benjamin Franklin press and an assortment of clocks and watches.
label: Description
content: Ref: Thomas Schraven, “The Hipp Chronoscope,” http://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/documents/schraven_art13.pdf
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Science & Scientific Instruments
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.314628
label: accession number
content: 208046
label: catalog number
content: 314628
objectType: label: Object Name
content: chronoscope, Hipp
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 52 cm x 26.7 cm x 21.5 cm; 20 15/32 in x 10 1/2 in x 8 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: overall; chronoscope: 20 5/16 in x 10 5/16 in x 8 3/4 in; 51.59375 cm x 26.19375 cm x 22.225 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall; weight: 2 1/8 in x 2 5/8 in; 5.3975 cm x 6.6675 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall; dome: 6 1/2 in x 5 3/4 in x 5 in; 16.51 cm x 14.605 cm x 12.7 cm