Add to albumThis type of spirit minimum thermometer was used on HMS 'Discovery' between 1901 and 1904, on its expedition to the Antarctic. The thermometer was made around 1900, probably by Negretti & Zambra, scientific instrument makers based in London.
The instrument has a scale reading from -90 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It was used to find out how low the air temperature dropped. The instrument is marked 'ANT: EX: 1901', with Hydrographic Office and Meteorological Office markings.
Robert Falcon Scott, RN (1868-1912) led the British National Antarctic Expedition between 1901 and 1904, which explored the Ross Sea area and discovered King Edward VII Land.
Record details
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- Online ID: 000-180-000-976-C
- Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
- Project:
National Museums Scotland Part 2
Project description View all records in project
- Ref: National Museums Scotland T.1911.66
- Date: Around 1900
- Material: Inscription: MO 47, HO [upward pointing arrow] 12 [Admiralty marks]
Specimen / nautical instrument / meteorological instrument / the
- Dimensions:
- What: Specimen / nautical instrument / meteorological instrument / the
- Subject: 22. PHYSICS, Heat (Departmental Classification)
- Who: Admiralty (Owner)
Negretti and Zambra, London (Instrument maker)
- Where: England, London
- Event: Antarctic Expedition
- Description: One of a collection of surveying, nautical, astronomical, meteorological and drawing instruments - a minimum thermometer, marked, made by Negretti and Zambra, as used on the Antarctic Expedition, 1901
- References:
- For spirit minimum thermometers, see W.E.K. Middleton. A history of the Thermometer and Its Use in Meteorology. Baltimore, 1966, pp 149-164.
- For the history of the Discovery, see Ann Savours. The Voyages of the Discovery: the Illustrated History of Scott's Ship. London: Virgin Books, 1992.
- For the history of this expedition, see Clements Markham. Antarctic Obsession: A Personal Narrative of the Origins of the British National Antarctic Expedition 1901-4, edited by Clive Holland. Harleston, Norfolk, 1986.
- Translations:
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