Accession No

2869?

Brief Description

air pump, by William Elliott, English, 1830 (c)

Origin

England; London; 227 High Holborn

Maker

Elliott, William

Class

physics

Earliest Date

1830

Latest Date

1833

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); wood (mahogany, other); glass

Dimensions

length 450mm; breadth 230mm; height 350mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Phillips, London, England; lot 101, 28/07/1982.

Inscription

‘WM. ELLIOTT
227 HIGH HOLBORN
LONDON’

Description Notes

Vacuum / air pump, by William Elliott, c. 1830.

Brass and wood air pump. Wooden base with 4 wooden feet and brass securing bracket beneath. Two brass discs connected to pump - one with glass bell jar. Knurled screw stopper at front. Two brass columns, with brass knobs, and wooden cross piece support pump, which consists of 2 brass cylinders and pistons with rack and pinion action moved by brass crank, secured by knurled screw, and turned mahogany handle.

References

Events

Description
In 1647, Otto von Guerricke of Magdeburg invented the first vacuum pump. Guerricke was a physicist, engineer, and natural philosopher. His intention in creating the vacuum pump was to study vacuums and the role of air in combustion and respiration.

The vacuum pump is, in principle, a relatively simple instrument. As the handle is turned, the pump moves up and down and the air in the bell jar is evacuated and a partial vacuum is created.

A perfect vacuum is a space with no matter in it. However, a perfect vacuum has never been obtained, the most complete man-made vacuum had approximately 100,000 gas molecules cc, compared to 30 billion billion in air at sea level. It is estimated that in space there is roughly one molecule per cubic meter.

A famous early demonstration of a vacuum was carried out by Otto von Guerricke in Magdeburg. A vacuum pump evacuated air from the inside of two hemispheres that had been placed open edge to open edge. Two teams of eight horses were then attached to the hemisphere handles but failed to pull apart the “Magdeburg” hemispheres.

Created by: Boris Jardine

FM:44717