Accession No
1064
Brief Description
spectroscope, astronomical, by Grubb and Son, Irish, 1867 (c)
Origin
Ireland; Dublin
Maker
Grubb and Son
Class
optical
Earliest Date
1867
Latest Date
1867
Inscription Date
Material
glass; metal (oxidised brass, steel, brass)
Dimensions
length 424mm; breadth 230mm; height 141mmm
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated by the Solar Physics Laboratory, University of Cambridge in 07/1951.
Inscription
‘Grubb & Son
Dublin’
Description Notes
6-prism astronomical spectroscope, part oxidised brass, steel and glass. Prisms set in oxidised brass mounts, linked in ‘double’ train terminated by a composite reflecting prism. The train housed in circular brass casing with glazed apertures. Aperture with screws for fixing to telescope. Spectroscope telescope screws into case, focus by rack and pinion moved by knurled screw, eyepiece missing. Double brass arm with racked arc moves prism train for different wavelengths. Arc moved by knurled screw, with attached vernier, and divided -10-0-55, subdivided to 1 and further to 0.1 on brass. Reading microscope with reflecting prism on pivoted mount.
References
Events
Description
Spectroscope
In 1814 Joseph von Fraunhofer noticed that the sun’s spectrum, when dispersed by a glass prism, is crossed by hundreds of fine dark lines. These lines could be used to determine the chemical composition of the sun, stars and many other substances by spectral analysis. The first photograph of the spectrum of a star (Vega) was made by Henry Draper using a spectroscope in 1872.
There are various different forms of spectroscope, but all use a slit and collimator to make a parallel beam of light, a prism for dispersing different wavelengths and a telescope to observe the dispersed spectrum.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson on 18/10/2002
FM:44732
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