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Barometer, made by James Watt

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Barometer, made by James Watt
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This barometer was made around 1760 in Glasgow by James Watt (1736-1819). It is one of the very rare pieces surviving from the instrument-making period of James Watt's career.

The stick barometer has a wooden casing and a brass pointer and scale. It consists of a glass tube with mercury, which moves up and down according to variations in atmospheric pressure.

Although Watt is famed as an engineer, he trained as a scientific instrument maker, initially in Glasgow, then for a year in London. Glasgow University appointed him as its mathematical instrument maker between 1757 and 1763.

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