Measuring & Mapping - Overview
Where, how far, and how much? People have invented an astonishing array of devices to answer seemingly simple questions like these. Measuring and mapping objects in the Museum's collections include the instruments of the famous—Thomas Jefferson's thermometer and a pocket compass used by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition across the American West. A timing device was part of the pioneering motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge in the late 1800s. Time measurement is represented in clocks from simple sundials to precise chronometers for mapping, surveying, and finding longitude. Everyday objects tell part of the story, too, from tape measures and electrical meters to more than 300 scales to measure food and drink. Maps of many kinds fill out the collections, from railroad surveys to star charts.
"Measuring & Mapping - Overview" showing 75 items.
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Non-ductile Tungsten Lamp
- Description
- Thomas Edison and others considered element number 6, carbon, ideal for lamp filaments in part because it has the highest melting point of any element. Element number 74, tungsten, has the next highest melting point but it then existed only as a powder. Attempts to make it into a workable form failed until early in the 1900s when a burst of invention occurred in Europe. A pressing technique called "sintering" (squeezing a material into a dense mass) was adopted by several inventors.
- The most commercially successful design proved to be that of Dr. Alexander Just and Franz Hanaman of Austria. Their work on sintering tungsten was based on a prior sintering process developed by Carl Auer von Welsbach for his filament made of osmium. Just and Hanaman made a tungsten and organic paste, squirted it through a die, baked out the organic material, then sintered the tungsten in a mix of gasses. The resulting filament gave about 8 lumens per watt and lasted 800 hours.
- Another Austrian, Dr. Hans Kutzel, used an electric arc to make a tungsten and water paste. He then pressed, baked, and sintered the tungsten in a manner similar to Just and Hanaman's procedure. Yet another pair of Austrians, Fritz Blau and Hermann Remane, adapted the osmium lamp process (they worked for Welsbach) by making a filament from an osmium and tungsten mix. They soon changed their "Osram" lamp filament to tungsten only. (The German word for tungsten is wolfram.)
- All three filaments were brittle and collectively known as "non-ductile" filaments. Individual filaments could not be made long enough to give the proper electrical resistance, so lamps needed several filaments connected end-to-end. U.S. companies quickly licensed rights to all of the non-ductile patents. This particular lamp was made under license by General Electric and sent to the National Bureau of Standards for use as a standard lamp.
- Lamp characteristics: Medium-screw base with glass insulator. Five single-arch tungsten filaments (in series) with 5 upper and 8 lower support hooks. The stem assembly features soldered connectors, Siemens-type press seal, and a cotton insulator. Tipped, straight-sided envelope with taper at neck.
- Date made
- ca 1908
- date made
- ca. 1908
- maker
- General Electric
- ID Number
- 1992.0342.16
- catalog number
- 1992.0342.16
- accession number
- 1992.0342
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Shilling Gradienter
- Description
- This instrument is marked "Geo. Shilling Washn D.C." and "U.S.G.S." It was made after 1882 when George Shilling opened his business, and before 1907 when the U.S. Geological Survey transferred it to the Smithsonian. The horizontal circle and vertical arc are silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by verniers to single minutes. A level vial sits atop the telescope; another level vial sits on the horizontal circle. The inside of the lens cap is marked "U.S.G.S. No 2."
- maker
- Shilling, George
- ID Number
- PH*247906
- catalog number
- 247906
- accession number
- 47736
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Shilling Gradienter
- Description
- This instrument is marked "Geo. Shilling Washn D.C." and "U.S.G.S. No 4." It was made after 1882 when George Shilling started out in business, and before 1907 when the U.S. Geological Survey transferred it to the Smithsonian. The horizontal circle and vertical arc are silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by verniers to single minutes. A level vial sits atop the telescope; a circular level sits on the horizontal circle, obscuring most of Shilling's signature.
- maker
- Shilling, George
- ID Number
- PH*247907
- catalog number
- 247907
- accession number
- 47736
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fauth Heliotrope (telescopic)
- Description
- This Instrument consists of a refracting telescope surmounted by a round mirror that can reflect a beam of light along the optical axis of the telescope. A screw base allows it to be attached to any tree or post. Fauth advertised a heliostat of this sort in 1877, describing it "As made by us for the United States Coast Survey." This example was made before 1887 when G. N. Saegmuller began putting serial numbers on Fauth instruments. New, it cost $30. The U. S. Geological Survey was established in 1879, and transferred this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1907. The signature reads "FAUTH & CO. WASHN D.C." and "U.S.G.S. No 6."
- Ref: Fauth, Catalogue of Astronomical and Surveying Instruments (Washington, D.C., 1877), p. 43.
- maker
- Fauth & Co.
- ID Number
- PH*247922
- catalog number
- 247922
- accession number
- 47736
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Kübel Theodolite
- Description
- Edward Kübel (1820-1896) was born in Bavaria, moved to Washington, D.C. around 1849, and went to work as foreman for William Würdemann. He went into business on his own in 1875, advertising that he "continues to manufacture the class of Astronomical and Geodetical Instruments formerly made by Mr. Würdemann." According to an account written in 1884, Kübel employed seven or eight skilled workmen, and his business was principally for the U. S. government.
- This instrument was made for the U. S. Geological Survey, which was organized in 1879. It was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1907. The inscriptions read "No. 172 Edward Kübel, Washington, DC" and "U.S.G.S. 8 IN No. 1." The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 20 minutes, and read by opposite verniers and magnifiers to 20 seconds. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 20 minutes of arc, and read by vernier and magnifier to single minutes.
- Ref: Silvio Bedini, "Edward Kübel (1820-1896) Washington, D.C. Instrument Maker," Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 85 (1998): 247-279.
- date made
- 1879-1896
- maker
- Kübel, Edward
- ID Number
- PH*247971
- accession number
- 47736
- catalog number
- 247971
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fauth Theodolite
- Description
- G. N. Saegmuller described this as a "Four inch Theodolite, As furnished to the U. S. Government Surveys," and priced it at $300. This example was made after 1887 when Saegmuller began putting serial numbers on Fauth instruments, and before 1905 when Fauth & Co. went out of business. The U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1929. The horizontal and vertical circles are silvered, and read, with opposite verniers and magnifiers, to 30 seconds. The signature reads "FAUTH & CO. WASHN D.C. No 966" and "U.S.C.&G.S. No. 160."
- Ref: George N. Saegmuller, Descriptive Price List of First Class Engineering & Astronomical Instruments (Washington, D.C., 1903), p. 41.
- maker
- Fauth & Co.
- ID Number
- PH*309664
- catalog number
- 309664
- accession number
- 106954
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Würdemann Level
- Description
- This unusual instrument is probably best described as a precise level with a graduated horizontal circle. The telescope is provided with a long and graduated level vial, and an ingenious clamp and tangent screw moving against the silvered vertical arc controls its elevation. This arc extends 20 degrees either way, and is graduated to 10 minutes and read by vernier to 20 seconds. The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 15 minutes, and read by opposite verniers with reflecting glasses and magnifiers to 30 seconds. A trough compass and a circular level are mounted above the horizontal circle. The signature reads "Wm. Würdemann, Washington, D.C. 565."
- The U. S. War Department transferred this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1931, in a pine box marked "Capt. M. C. Meigs, Washington Aqueduct -Wurdemann--Grading Transit--1854." It was used by Montgomery C. Meigs, the captain in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers who was tasked with surveying the course of a new Washington Aqueduct in 1853. Since William Würdemann was the leading mathematical instrument maker in Washington at that time, it is reasonable that he was asked to make instruments for this important task.
- maker
- Würdemann, William
- ID Number
- PH*310299
- accession number
- 115960
- catalog number
- 310299
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Kahler Geodetic Transit
- Description
- This transit was made in 1877 for the new John C. Green Astronomical Observatory at Princeton University, and resembles the instruments that Stackpole & Brother had made for the 1874 transit of Venus. It has a "broken" telescope that is viewed through one end of the horizontal axis, a micrometer eyepiece, a cast-iron base, and a mechanism that is used to lift and reverse the telescope. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 10 minutes, and read by opposite verniers to 10 seconds.
- The signature reads "No 145 EDWD KAHLER WASHINGTON, D.C." Edward Kahler (1832–1890) was born in Germany, and is listed in Washington, D.C., directories from 1869. Charles A. Young, the newly appointed astronomer at Princeton, carried on a lengthy correspondence with Kahler, repeatedly modifying the design even as the instrument was being built for the university's new observatory.
- Ref: Charles A. Young Papers, Princeton University Archives.
- maker
- Kahler, Edward
- ID Number
- PH*328709
- catalog number
- 328709
- accession number
- 275579
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fauth Theodolite
- Description
- This 8–inch theodolite "especially adapted for triangulation" was made between 1887, when Saegmuller began putting serial numbers on Fauth instruments, and 1905, when Fauth & Co. went out of business. It is marked "FAUTH & CO. WASHN D.C. No 1993." The edge of the horizontal circle is beveled, graduated, and read by opposite micrometer microscopes to single seconds. It belonged to the University of Missouri at Columbia. New, it cost $450.
- Ref: George N. Saegmuller, Descriptive Price–List of First–Class Engineering & Astronomical Instruments (Washington, D.C., 1894), p. 50.
- maker
- Fauth & Co.
- ID Number
- PH*333630
- catalog number
- 333630
- accession number
- 300659
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fauth Dumpy Level
- Description
- The U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Precise Level "is constructed without regard to cost, extreme accuracy being the governing consideration. This fact accounts for the seemingly high price, which is for the complete instrument, with two achromatic eye–pieces, graduated and chambered level–vial having a value of 2 seconds per division. Completed packed, with extra heavy tripod...$300." Thus wrote G. N. Saegmuller, proprietor of Fauth & Co., describing the Precise Level that had been developed by E. G. Fischer and his colleagues in the Instrument Division of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. This example, marked "FAUTH & CO. WASHN. D.C. 2239" was made between 1900, when the form was introduced, and 1905, when Fauth went out of business. It belonged to the University of Missouri at Columbia.
- To minimize changes due to temperature variation, Fischer's team developed an iron–nickel alloy with a very low coefficient of expansion. They also placed the telescope tube within a slightly larger tube, and sealed the openings between the tubes with chamois leather collars. To minimize disruptions caused by changes in weight or pressure upon the ground, Fischer's team mounted the level above the telescope. A mirror, mounted above the level, reflects an image of the bubble into a tube at the left side of the telescope. Thus, while the surveyor's right eye looks through the telescope to the distant rod, his/her left eye can see both ends of the level vial.
- The Fischer level was Fauth's third precise level. The first was similar to the instrument that Kern had shown at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia. The second, unveiled in 1879, was based on a design originating in Vienna, Austria, and developed in the Instrument Shop of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, which was then under Saegmuller's direction.
- Ref: E. G. Fischer, "Description of Precise Levels Nos. 7 and 8," Report of the Director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (1900), Appendix 6.
- George N. Saegmuller, Descriptive Price–List of First–Class Engineering & Astronomical Instruments (Washington, D.C., 1903), pp. 60–61.
- Randall Brooks and Heather Bajdik, "Precise Levels in Surveys of North America," Rittenhouse 10 (1996): 48–57.
- maker
- Fauth & Co.
- ID Number
- PH*333634
- catalog number
- 333634
- accession number
- 300659
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center