glass hydrometer
Date1902-1914
Inventory Number4466
ClassificationHydrometer
Subject
Attributed to
German
Attributed to
Scientific Materials Company
1902 - 1925
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensions1.9 x 31.3 x 1.9 cm (3/4 x 12 5/16 x 3/4 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 1.120 to 1.190. The hydrometer is numbered "8".
Part of an original set of 20, now 22 including three duplicates and one missing.
Its scale goes from 1.120 to 1.190. The hydrometer is numbered "8".
Signedunsigned
Curatorial RemarksUnlike the other hydrometers in this series, this one is not marked "Germany, Scientific Materials Company, Pittsburgh"
The 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.
See also/See also
