Instruments in the Oslo Collections, 2008

These 19th century instruments for the teaching and research of physics are now held at Oslo University and Norsk Teknisk Museum, Oslo Norway. The video shows the rainbows cast in sunlight by historical glass and quartz prisms, made by Soleil in Paris. The 'Sound and Periodicity' section of the video presents sounds from: a xylophone, 19th century organ pipes being blown, tuning forks, a Doppler effect tuning fork. The video shows motions of a Lissijous figure mechanical device made by Norwegian instrument maker P C Brantzeg and a Wave demonstration by London maker E. M. Clarke. The video was made in 2009 in the Oslo collections by Elizabeth Cavicchi.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• tuning fork
• prism
• Norway
• science education
• sound
• optics
• history
• of
• science
• historical
• instruments
• Doppler
• effect
• Lissajous
• spectrum

[maplespring2007]

Interesting to see these instruments alive again, refracting light into colors, making or amplifying sound, making lissajous patterns again after waiting so many years on the shelf to be asked to dance. The craftsmanship and artistry behind the 'traveling wave' device at the end of the video show how important a visual representation of the idea was.