Modern chemistry

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Florence, Italy
http//www.imss.fi.it
Multimedia Museum Catalogue
A virtual visit made by class 4.A Ga SOSPg
Znojmo
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• Modern chemistry
• Astronomy
• Geography and Cartography
• Electricity and Magnetism

• Calculating instruments

END
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Modern chemistry

• 1.Precision balance
• 2.Alembic domes
• 3.Bottle with side spout
• 4.Bottle with curved pouring pipe
• 5.Bell-jar

• 6.Bottles
• 7.Retort
• 8.Matrasses
• 9.Funnel
• 10.Glass

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Precision balance

• The balance is supported by a marble pillar with
  an internal stop mechanism, a screw-controlled
  lever, two bubble levels at the top of the
  pillar, with brass adjustment screws.

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Alembic domes

• Parts of instruments for distillation, one of the
  fundamental operations in alchemy and chemistry.

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Bottle with side spout

• Ocher glass bottle, generally used for solutions
  of substances in liquids.

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Bottle with curved pouring pipe

• Clear glass bottle with curved pouring pipe and a
  mouth with pouring lip.

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Bell-jar

• Glass bell-jars were very common in the
  eighteenth century and had a variety of
  applications.

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Bottles

• Two white glass bottles. One has a
  truncated-conic neck, the other is tall-necked
  with an opening near the bottom. Bottles have
  always been essential to chemical analysis,
  either as vessels for substances, or as
  accessories for instruments in different
  experiments.

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Retort

• This retort is made of glass and also has a small
  open beak. Used for distillation.

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Matrasses

• The larger one is white, spherical, and flared,
  with internal frosting the second is green. The
  instrument's special shape made it easier to
  prepare solutions of salts. Both have traces of
  an unidentified substance at the bottom .

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Funnel

• White glass funnel in a cylindrical cardboard
  case. Used to pour mercury in chemical
  operations.

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Glass

• Chalice whose cup is connected by means of a
  small tube to a round bulge. The apparatus rests
  on a thick round base.

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Astronomy

• Themes
• - Astrnomical use of the plane astrolabe
• Hourglasses, water clocks and combustion clocks
• Lorenzo della Volpaias planetary clock
• Mechanikal clocks
• Nocturnal
• Pendulum movement
• Quadrant
• Sundails (1)
• Sundails (2)

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Astronomical use of the plane astrolabe
This astrolabe was made by Thomas Gemini. On the
front are the rete and the alidade. The mater
carries the mariner's quadrant and the names of
the winds in English, Greek, and Latin. The date
is incomplete, but the three engraved digits
(155) narrow the time frame for the instrument's
construction to 1550-1559.
On the back is a universal planisphere with
another alidade fitted with a mobile
perpendicular arm and a jointed index. The
tympanums are missing. Provenance Robert Dudley
bequest to the Medici collections.
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Hourglasses, water clocks, and combustion clocks
Powder hourglass housed in a hexagonal iron frame
with six small pillars. The glass compartments
are joined at the center by paper disks. The time
elapsed was measured by the quantity of powder
falling from the upper compartment to the lower
one.
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Lorenzo della Volpaia's planetary clock
A faithful reconstruction of the Orologio dei
Pianeti, invented and built by Lorenzo della
Volpaia in 1510. Initially installed in the Sala
dei Gigli in the Palazzo Vecchio, the clock was
dismantled and destroyed in the seventeenth
century. The reconstruction is based on the
highly detailed data about the original clock in
Della Volpaia's manuscripts. The replica was
built by Alberto Gorla under the scientific
supervision of Giuseppe Brusa, with Emmanuelle
Poulle as astronomical consultant.
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Mechanical clocks
The back of the astrolabe dial is stamped twice
with the initials CR joined inside a shield the
letters may stand for Caspar Rauber. The original
leather case is lined on the inside and outside
with red velvet. There are six openings protected
by crystals. The globe-shaped top, also covered
in leather, protects the armillary sphere. The
case is divided into three parts the base, with
a drawer for the keys, and two façade
covers. Possibly the clock made in Florence for
Maria Cristina of Lorraine, wife of Grand Duke
Ferdinand I de' Medici. Remained in the
possession of the Medici and was later exhibited
in the Tribuna di Galileo. Restored to working
order in 1878.
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Nocturnal
The instrument consists of two superposed disks
of different diameters. Part of the circumference
of the smaller disk is toothed and fitted with a
short index. On the disks is mounted a long,
finely decorated index. The front of the
instrument served as a nocturnal for determining
the time from the positions of the stars. The
front also carries the zodiac signs, the initials
of the names of the months, and the hour
markings. On the back is the sundial, complete
with a folding gnomon, for telling time during
the day. The back also displays the date (1554).
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Pendulum movement
The oval frame with feet and gilt friezes
contains a copy of the original drawing made by
Vincenzo Viviani and by Galileo's son, Vincenzo.
It reproduces the apparatus illustrated by
Galileo in his letter of June 1637 to Laurens
Reael, in which he explained his method of
determining the longitude based on the
observation of the periods of Jupiter's moons.
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Quadrant
Double quadrant, comprising two brass plates and
an identically shaped wooden tablet between them.
The three plates rotate on one another around a
single point located at the apex of the right
angle.
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Sundials (1)
This ring dial comprises three rings (armillae).
One ring carries the symbols of the zodiacal
constellations on the inner side another is
inscribed on both sides with a semi-circle
divided into twelve parts. There are hinges for
closing the dial. Provenance Medici collections.
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Sundials (2)
This tiny solar quadrant, made of boxwood, is
preserved with its leather case. The instrument
was used to tell the time from the altitude of
the Sun. There are engraved markings in black on
both sides and the hour lines. One side carries
the divisions for the months from April to
September, the other the divisions from October
to March. The quadrant was built for latitude
3730' (Catania and Seville).
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Geography and Cartography

• Armillary sphere
• Terrestrial globe
• Octant
• Arab celestial globe
• Celestial globe

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Armillary sphere

• Begun on March 4, 1588, and completed on May 6,
  1593, this large armillary sphere was built under
  the supervision of Antonio Santucci at the
  request of Ferdinand I de' Medici. The sphere
  represents the "universal machine" of the world
  according to the concepts developed by Aristotle
  and perfected by Ptolemy.

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Terrestrial globe

• This terrestrial globe, made by Matthäus Greuter,
  is complete with cover. The circular horizon
  rests directly on the three roughly C-shaped
  legs, creating a rather unusual English-type
  stand.

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Octant

• The octant is a reflection instrument designed by
  John Hadley c. 1731. It is used to measure the
  altitude of the Sun or a celestial body above the
  horizon at sea.

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Arab celestial globe

• Believed to be the oldest celestial globe in the
  world. Only the globe is original the base with
  the horizon and the meridian are more recent. An
  Arabic inscription states that the globe was made
  in Valencia by Ibrâhim 'Ibn Saîd and his son
  Muhammad in year 478 of the Hegira (1085 of the
  Christian era).

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Celestial globe

• This celestial globe, made by Mario Cartaro, is
  one of the rare examples of printed globes
  produced in Italy in the sixteenth century.
  Manuscript globes, which could be made in much
  larger sizes, were more common.

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Electricity and Magnetism

• Armed lodestones
• Large armed lodestone
• Nobili's thermoelectric galvanometer
• Nobili's constant-current thermopile
• Nobili's hydroelectric galvanometer

• Large spherical lodestone
• Azimuth compass
• Magneto-electric machine by Pixii
• Volta hydrogen lamp with electrophorus
• Volta hydrogen lamp

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Volta hydrogen lamp
Hydrogen lamp invented by Alessandro Volta.
Consists of a glass globe with a brass base and
brass collar with stop-cock. Above the latter
projects sideways a bent tube terminating in a
nozzle.
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Volta hydrogen lamp with electrophorus
A more sophisticated version of the hydrogen lamp
invented by Alessandro Volta. Incomplete. A glass
bottle rests on a wooden box whose top is fitted
with a brass collar and stop-cock.
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Magneto-electric machine by Pixii
One of the earliest magneto-electric generators
for producing electric current. A mahogany frame
supports a horseshoe electromagnet suspended from
the upper cross-piece (today only the
electromagnet's iron core survives the coils are
missing).
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Azimuth compass
Azimuth compass mounted on gimbals. A mahogany
box with brass frame is suspended inside a second
box with handles. Hand-made and hand-colored
windrose, above which pivots a broad magnetic
needle with garnet bearing cup.
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Large spherical lodestone
Large lodestone trimmed into a sphere, with
latitudinal and longitudinal grooves dividing the
sphere into equal areas. The lodestone is armed
by two iron hemispheres encased by sheets of
beaten copper and terminating at the top in large
pole pieces.
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Nobili's hydroelectric galvanometer
The black wooden base of this galvanometer
carried a lead stabilizing ring (missing). A
cylindrical glass cover carries the suspension
for the astatic needles.
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Nobili's constant-current thermopile
Consists of a brass ring carrying 25 elements
(antimony and bismuth couples), with removable
top and bottom, the whole forming a cylindrical
box. An important application of the thermopile
was as a constant source of electric current,
long before reference voltages could be supplied
by stable standard cells.
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Nobili's thermoelectric galvanometer
The black wooden base carries a lead stabilizing
ring painted red. The glass protection dome is
missing. The coil, wound on a boxwood bobbin, has
many windings of fine wire, probably silver,
covered with silk.
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Large armed lodestone
Long kept in the Uffizi Gallery, where it was
observed and described by Cornelis Mejjer, this
lodestone was re-armed by Mejjer to restore its
original power. Mejjer also recalled that
exceptional magnets such as this fetched
exorbitant prices.
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Armed lodestones
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Calculating instruments

• Single-handed dividers
• Quadrant
• Geometrical square
• Caliper compass
• Dividing engine

• Objective lens
• Dipleidoscope
• Spectroscope
• Mobile mount for eyepiece
• Theodolite

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Single-handed dividers
The legs of the instrument comprise a
semi-circular section and a straight section
tapered to a point.
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Quadrant
This quadrant, consists of a thin plate on which
are roughly inscribed a few lines radiating from
the vertex to the arc.
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Geometrical square
This geometrical square consists of a frame
inscribed with the shadow square on two
contiguous sides.
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Caliper compass
Caliper compass consisting of two arched legs
displaying small straight marks at the hinge
point.
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Dividing engine
Dividing engine used to engrave the graduated
circles of astronomical instruments.
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Objective lens
This may have been one of the lenses made for his
private observatory and bequeathed to the
Specola.
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Dipleidoscope
It consists of a small telescope mounted on a
cylindrical stone pedestal with a prism system in
front of the objective.
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Spectroscope
It was one of the devices that could be applied
to the focal plane of the Amici I telescope
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Mobile mount for eyepiece
The mount enabled the observer to explore the sky
with controlled movements, or to track an object
when it was escaping from view because of the
apparent motion of the celestial sphere.
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Theodolite
This theodolite is a portable instrument,
suitable for surveying and astronomical
measurements.