Accession No

6271

Brief Description

manometric flame capsule on stand, by unknown maker, and rotating four-sided mirror on stand, by Phillip Harris and Company Ltd.; English or Irish; late 19th Century

Origin

England; Birmingham; and Ireland; Dublin

Maker

Philip Harris and Company Ltd.

Class

sound

Earliest Date

1875

Latest Date

1900

Inscription Date

Material

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

Dimensions

Rotating mirror: height 423mm; width 210mm; depth 210mm Manometric flame: height 400mm; length 90mm; depth 90mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Trevor Philip and Sons, 75a Jermyn St, London on 21/05/2009.

Inscription

‘Philip Harris & Co. Ltd
Birmingham
and Dublin’ [on plaque on top of rotating mirror]

Description Notes

Manometric flame capsule on stand (unknown maker) and rotating four-sided mirror on stand by Phillip Harris & Co. Ltd.; Birmingham and Dublin; late 19th century

6271.1 Manometric flame capsule for visualising sound waves: Iron stand with wooden manometric flame capsule attached. Rubber diaphragm in capsule absent.

Condition fair; some corrosion to base and scratching to stand.

6271.2 Rotating four-sided mirror which acts as a stroboscope, allowing a rapidly modulating flame to be seen as a separated set of images. Mirror is attached to

Condition fair; some corrosion to base and brass stand. Crizzling/surface salts present on mirror glass.

References

Torben Rees; 'Koenig's apparatus for the analysis of sound: the first spectrum analyzer'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2009: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/acoustics/rudolph-koenig-pursuit-acoustic-perfection/koenigs-apparatus

Events