glass hydrometer

Date1902-1914

Inventory Number4469

ClassificationHydrometer

Subject

Maker German

Supplier Scientific Materials Company 1902 - 1925

Cultural Region

Place of Origin

Dimensions1.9 x 1.9 x 31.9 cm (3/4 x 3/4 x 12 9/16 in.)

Material

DescriptionA glass tube with two identifiable sections. A first, very narrow one that takes roughly half of the tube's length and contains a paper scale, and a wider bulb that is partly filled with air and has about one-fourth of its length filled with lead shot at its extreme end.

Part of an original set of 20, now 22 including three duplicates and one missing.

Its scale goes from 1.240 to 1.310. The hydrometer is numbered "10".

Signedon scale: Germany, Scientific Materials Company, Pittsburgh

Inscribedon tube: Normal Araometer fuer Gewicht Temp 15°C

Curatorial RemarksThe dating of this instrument comes from the fact that at the start of World War I, supplies were difficult to get from Europe, and of course supplies from Germany were off-limit. For storage information, see inv. number 4479.

FunctionHydrometers are used to determine a liquid's specific gravity and are used by letting them float upright in the liquid and registering the point on the scale reached by the liquid's surface.

ProvenanceFrom the Department of Physics, Harvard University.