RecordPyrometer (1 of 2)
Pyrometer (1 of 2)A pyrometer usually demonstrates the different degree of thermal expansion of various metals. This example, designed by James Ferguson, was made around 1800 and retailed by W. & S. Jones, scientific instrument makers based in London. It is pictured here with its fitted case. The pyrometer consists of a brass clamp to hold metal rods, three burners to heat them, and a dial on a pillar. The silvered-brass dial is marked from 0 to 200 degrees, with a long steel needle. A second smaller needle points at a scale marked from 8 to 0. The dial is marked 'W. & S. Jones/ 30 Holborn London'. Six metal rods are supplied, marked 'B' [for brass], 'C' [for copper], 'M', 'P' [for platinum] and 'I' [for iron]. The sixth is unmarked. The apparatus possibly lacks a thermometer. Ferguson first described and illustrated this apparatus in 1767. This particular example appears to have been commissioned from W. & S. Jones by Charles Nicoll Bancker (1778/9-1869), a wealth Philadelphia insurance and shipping agent, who built up a substantial collection of scientific instruments in the first part of the 19th century. Record detailsTo search on related items, click any linked text below.
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