Accession No

6863

Brief Description

compass needle in case, late 19th Century

Origin

Maker

Class

magnetism

Earliest Date

1874

Latest Date

1894

Inscription Date

Material

wood; metal; (brass, steel) glass

Dimensions

length 281mm; breadth 48mm; height 19mm

Special Collection

Provenance

It is recorded in the Cavendish Laboratory's 1894 alphabetical catalogue of apparatus as 'compass needle in case with straight edge' on p.35.

Inscription

‘E 126’ (brass plate screwed onto side of instrument)

Description Notes

Glazed wooden box on brass base containing long compass needle lockable by a brass knob on the outside of the box. Brass base extends to form a ruler with a fiducial edge. There may once have been a degree scale at the ends of the needle.
The instrument may have been used for drawing meridian lines once the needle was set at the correct magnetic variation.

Complete

References

Events