| National Museum of American History

This paperback book is part of the College Outline Series published by Barnes & Noble. It contains five-place tables of the common logarithms of numbers and of logarithms of sines, cosines, tangents and cotangents for every second of arc.

Description: This paperback book is part of the College Outline Series published by Barnes & Noble. It contains five-place tables of the common logarithms of numbers and of logarithms of sines, cosines, tangents and cotangents for every second of arc. There is also a shorter table of natural trigonometric functions from minute to minute. Further short tables assist in conversion from common logarithms to natural logarithms, give values and logarithms of haversines, and assist in converting between degrees and radians.; The mathematician Kaj L. Nielsen (1914-1992) was born in Denmark in 1914, came to the United States in 1926, and studied at the University of Michigan and Syracuse University before obtaining a PhD. at the University of Illinois. In addition to teaching at Syracuse, Illinois, Brown, Louisiana State University, and Butler University; he worked in the Mathematics Division of the Naval Ordnance Plant in Indianapolis and also at the Battelle Memorial Institute there. He published a wide array of books relating to practical mathematics, especially numerical analysis. The first edition of this book appeared in 1943. This is a reprint from 1965 of the second edition of 1961.; Mechanical engineer Edward L. Heller (1912–2007) donated this book of tables to the Smithsonian. From 1956 to 1959, Heller worked as a nuclear project engineer for H. K. Ferguson Co. He was a technical manager for General Dynamics Corporation from 1959 to 1967.; References:; American Men and Women of Science, 12th ed., New York: J. Cattell Press, 1972, iii: p. 2620 (on Heller).; “Kaj L. Nielsen,” Math Times, Department of Mathematics, University of Illinois, Fall 1992, p. 7.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1943; 1965

maker: Nielsen, Kaj L.

ID Number: 1984.3078.01
nonaccession number: 1984.3078
catalog number: 1984.3078.01

This pamphlet folds out to eight pages and was printed on light green paper by Carbic Limited, the British manufacturer of Otis King's Pocket Calculator, a cylindrical slide rule.

Description: This pamphlet folds out to eight pages and was printed on light green paper by Carbic Limited, the British manufacturer of Otis King's Pocket Calculator, a cylindrical slide rule. Carbic's address on the pamphlet—171, Seymour Place, London, W.I.—is scratched out and reprinted as 54, Dundonald Road, London, S.W.19. Dundonald Road was the last known location for Carbic, and the company was there by 1959. The calculator was available by mail order in 1960 for 62s. 6d. (roughly $175.00).; The pamphlet provides details of the scales on the Model K (which performed multiplication and division) and the Model L (which also provided readings of logarithms for determining roots and powers). The examples also include problems of proportion, percentages, constant factors, and calculations in pounds sterling (before decimalization of British currency). The last three pages provide instructions for operating the instrument.; See also 1987.0788.01 and 1987.0788.07.; Reference: "Finding the Answer is Simplicity Itself," advertisement for the Otis King Pocket Calculator, The New Scientist 5, no. 121 (March 12, 1959): 548 and 8, no. 213 (December 15, 1960): 1568.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1960-1962

maker: Carbic Limited

ID Number: 1987.0788.06
accession number: 1987.0788
catalog number: 1987.0788.06

This inexpensive five-inch white plastic rule has A and D scales on the front of the base; B, CI, and C scales on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales on the back of the base. The indicator is clear plastic. Underneath the slide is a table of equivalents and settings.

Description: This inexpensive five-inch white plastic rule has A and D scales on the front of the base; B, CI, and C scales on the front of the slide; and S, L, and T scales on the back of the base. The indicator is clear plastic. Underneath the slide is a table of equivalents and settings. The front of the slide also has a scale of six inches, divided to sixteenths of an inch, and a scale of 15.3 centimeters, divided to millimeters. The back of the slide has a table of decimal equivalents from 1/64 to 63/64. A brown imitation leather sheath is marked: POCKET SLIDE RULE MADE IN U.S.A. No. 27. For instructions, see 1988.0807.06. The postal code on the instructions indicates a date between 1943 and 1963. According to this sheet, the C-Thru Ruler Company of Hartford, Conn., made this rule. This firm, established in 1939 by teacher Jennie Zachs and acquired by Acme United Corporation in 2012, continues to make transparent drafting tools and drawing instruments.; References: Brian Dowling, "Acme United Acquires Bloomfield's C-Thru Ruler," Hartford Courant, June 11, 2012; "About Us," C-Thru Ruler Company, http://www.cthruruler.com/.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1943-1963

maker: C-Thru Ruler Company

ID Number: 1988.0807.02
accession number: 1988.0807
catalog number: 1988.0807.02

During the 1950s, the Belgian teacher Emile-Georges Cuisenaire designed a set of rods to teach about numbers and basic arithmetic. John V. Trivett, a mathematics educator trained in England, wrote two paperback books to introduce teachers to the use of Cuisenaire rods.

Description: During the 1950s, the Belgian teacher Emile-Georges Cuisenaire designed a set of rods to teach about numbers and basic arithmetic. John V. Trivett, a mathematics educator trained in England, wrote two paperback books to introduce teachers to the use of Cuisenaire rods. This is the revised edition of the first of them, copyrighted in 1962 and published by the Cuisenaire Company of America, then in Mount Vernon, New York. Trivett would go on to become a professor of education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.; For a set of Cuisenaire rods, see 1987.0542.01. For related documentation see 1987.0542.02 through 1987.0542.07.; For further information about the donor of the materials, see 1987.0542.01.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1962

maker: Trivett, John V.

ID Number: 1987.0542.06
accession number: 1987.0542
catalog number: 1987.0542.06

This modification of Friden’s fully automatic STW calculating machine allows for “back transfer.” That is to say, it has a mechanism to transfer figures from the accumulator register to the keyboard selecting levers and vice versa.

Description: This modification of Friden’s fully automatic STW calculating machine allows for “back transfer.” That is to say, it has a mechanism to transfer figures from the accumulator register to the keyboard selecting levers and vice versa. The model was manufactured from 1959 until 1965.; The full-keyboard electric non-printing stepped drum machine has a metal frame painted tan and ten columns of brown and white plastic keys, with a blank white key at the bottom of each column. Metal rods between the columns of keys and under the keyboard turn to indicate decimal points. On the right are two columns of function bars. On the left is a nine-digit register that indicates numbers entered for multiplication. Below it is a block of nine white digit keys, with a 0 bar below. These are surrounded by further levers and function keys, including a split “NEG POS TRANSFER” bar.; Behind the entry keys is a movable carriage with an 11-digit register and a 20-digit result register. The result register has plastic buttons above it that can be used to set up numbers. Nine entry buttons and a clear button are under the revolution register. Zeroing knobs for the registers are on the right of the carriage. A clear carriage bar is toward the front of the keyboard. All three registers have sliding decimal markers. The machine has four hard rubber feet as well as a rubber cord and a tan plastic cover.; A mark on the bottom reads: MODEL SERIAL (/) SBT 10 907698. A mark on the back and side reads: Friden. A sticker on the bottom reads: FRIDEN, INC. (/) SAN LEONARDO, CALIFORNIA, USA. A mark on the cover reads: Friden (/) AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR.; For related documents, see 1984.0475.02, 1984.0475.03, 1984.0475.07, and non-accession 1984.3079.; This is one of five Friden calculating machines given to the Smithsonian by Vincent L. Corrado (1917-1984), a native of Covington, Kentucky, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at Catholic University, served in the U.S. Army from 1942 through 1973, and then joined the Veteran’s Administration for the rest of his life.; The date given is based on the serial number, courtesy of Carl Holm. This is the date of manufacture.; Reference:; Ernie Jorgenson, Friden Age List, Office Machine Americana, p. 5 gives the date 1960 for this machine.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1964

maker: Friden, Inc.

ID Number: 1983.0475.01
catalog number: 1983.0475.01
accession number: 1983.0475
maker number: SBT 10 907698

This gray six-ringed binder contains instructions for adjusting Friden calculating machines and adding machines on sale as of May 15, 1963. It is divided into sixteen sections, two of which are empty.

Description: This gray six-ringed binder contains instructions for adjusting Friden calculating machines and adding machines on sale as of May 15, 1963. It is divided into sixteen sections, two of which are empty. A mark inside the front cover reads: PROPERTY OF FRIDEN, INC.; Received with a Friden model SBT 10 calculating machine with catalog number 1983.0475.01.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1963

maker: Friden, Inc.

ID Number: 1983.0475.02
accession number: 1983.0475
catalog number: 1983.0475.02

The term “home-made laser” almost seems a contradiction but that is not the case. This gas laser was built by high school student Stephen M. Fry in 1964, only four years after Ali Javan made the first gas laser at Bell Labs.

Description: The term “home-made laser” almost seems a contradiction but that is not the case. This gas laser was built by high school student Stephen M. Fry in 1964, only four years after Ali Javan made the first gas laser at Bell Labs. Fry followed plans published in Scientific American's "The Amateur Scientist" column in September 1964, (page 227).; The glass tube is filled with helium and neon and, as the magazine reported, "seems to consist merely of a gas-discharge tube that looks much like the letter 'I' in a neon sign; at the ends of the tube are flat windows that face a pair of small mirrors. Yet when power is applied, the device emits as many as six separate beams of intense light."; The discharge tube is the only piece of this particular laser that remains. The flat windows (called "Brewster windows") are square instead of round, and the electrodes are parallel to the gas tube instead of perpendicular. Otherwise it resembles the drawings in the magazine. Fry later earned a Ph.D. in physics with a dissertation on lasers.
Location: Currently not on view

Date made: 1964
date ordered, given, or borrowed: 1985-03-15

maker: Fry, Stephen M.

ID Number: 1985.0269.01
accession number: 1985.0269
catalog number: 1985.0269.01

This cardboard sheet describes a Thacher cylindrical slide rule with a magnifying glass that was manufactured and sold by Keuffel & Esser of New York in the early 20th century as model 4013.

Description: This cardboard sheet describes a Thacher cylindrical slide rule with a magnifying glass that was manufactured and sold by Keuffel & Esser of New York in the early 20th century as model 4013. (In the late 19th century, K&E numbered the instrument as 1741.) It apparently was used as an exhibit label around 1966 at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, the previous owner of the related instrument.; See also MA.327886.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1966

maker: Museum of Science and Industry

ID Number: MA.271855.01.02
accession number: 271855
catalog number: 271855.01.02

This set of eight games was developed by Professor Harry D. Ruderman of Hunter College High School in New York City to teach children the ideas of strategy in an entertaining setting.

Description: This set of eight games was developed by Professor Harry D. Ruderman of Hunter College High School in New York City to teach children the ideas of strategy in an entertaining setting. The basic game and its variations are explained on a single sheet of paper divided into two parts, both written by Ruderman. The first part, TAC-TICKLE: A Challenging Game of Pure Strategy, was written in 1965 and the second, Additional Variations of Tac-Tickle, was written in 1967. A trademark for TAC-TICKLE was registered in February 1968 but was later canceled.; The kit includes eight wooden cubes, four red and four blue, with some faces containing letters and some faces blank. All the cubes are stored in a foam mat with twenty holes. The kit also includes a cardboard mat with fourteen white circles and eight circles containing the “Games for Thinkers” logo. All the variations in the first set of instructions aim to get three cubes of the same color in a line and ignore the letters, while those in the second set of instructions require that one cube of each color has a letter on the top face, and describe alternate, more complicated, ways that the cubes with letters are allowed to move.; The game and the sheet of instructions were accompanied by a sheet listing “GAMES For THINKERS” that were available from WFF ‘N PROOF Publishers and a postcard offering a free one-year subscription to the WFF ‘N PROOF Newsletter.; WFF ‘N PROOF Publishers and Newsletter were outgrowths of the ALL (Accelerated Learning of Logic) Project that developed mathematical games under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The director of ALL was Layman E. Allen of Yale University Law School. In 1968 Allen moved from Yale to the University of Michigan with a joint appointment in the Law School and the Mental Health Research Institute, where he continued his work on instructional games. Over the years the name and location of the distributor of the TAC-TICKLE changed, although the phrase “Games For Thinkers” has been associated with it from before Allen’s move to Ann Arbor. Price lists in the WFF ‘N PROOF Newsletters (part of the documentation in accession 317891) indicate that at first the game was distributed by WFF ‘N PROOF in New Haven, Connecticut, and sold for $1.00. In 1971 the game was distributed by WFF ‘N PROOF through Maple Packers in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. A firm called Learning Games Associates of Ann Arbor later took over distribution of the game and donated this example to the Smithsonian in 1975. The Accelerated Learning Foundation of Fairfield, Iowa, then became the distributor.; Reference:; Games For Thinkers Website.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1967

developer: Ruderman, Harry D.
maker: Learning Games Associates

ID Number: MA.335308
accession number: 317891
catalog number: 335308

Rutherford-Geiger alpha-particle charge apparatus 1908, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus.

Description: Rutherford-Geiger alpha-particle charge apparatus 1908, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus. Object ID EM.N-08019: length 13 in (33.1 cm) x width 13 1/2 in (34.2 cm) x depth 1 15/16 in (4.9 cm); This object consists of a cylindrical glass body with a tapered ground socket at each end. (Cylinder axis is vertical). On each side, at the middle of the glass cylinder, a glass tube extends out horizontally. The longer of the 2 tubes is provided with a stopcock.; Into the lower ground socket of the main body is inserted a cylindrical glass vessel with a rounded bottom. A glass tube (emitter stem) extending at right angles from the inserted glass cylinder supports an axial brass rod, insulated with red wax. The end of this rod inside the vessel bears a horizontal brass ring, to which is soldered a thick wire across the diameter of the ring. At the center of this is soldered a vertical wire, at the upper end of which is a horizontal rectangular plate.; Into the upper ground socket of the main body is inserted a second cylindrical glass vessel, this one bearing an axial glass tube (collector stem) through which passes an axial brass rod, insulated at each end with red wax. The lower end of this rod bears the collecting electrode, consisting of a short hollow brass cylinder with a disc of foil, possibly aluminum, across its lower end.; History and basic principles; In 1908 the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford, working at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, was trying to understand the so-called “alpha particle,” one constituent of the radiation given off by radioactive substances. He had earlier shown that the alpha particle had a positive charge and was heavier than the previously known electron. Rutherford suspected that it was the same as the helium atom.; To confirm this conjecture, he needed several pieces of evidence: the number of alpha particles given off in each radioactive decay, and the mass and electrical charge of the particles. Rutherford and his colleague Hans Geiger developed the apparatus shown here to collect the charge carried by the particles given off by a radioactive source in a given period of time. Separate experiments gave the rate of emission of the particles, from which the charge on a single particle could be computed.; The radioactive material was mounted as a thin film on a holder set in the lower bulb. The emitted alpha particles passed upwards (the apparatus was evacuated to eliminate absorption by air) and struck an insulated collector plate, to which they transferred their charge. The plate was connected to a sensitive external electrometer that measured the charge delivered in a given time. The charge determined was close to twice the electron charge, supporting Rutherford’s hypothesis.; Additional background on the replica of the Rutherford-Geiger alpha-particle charge apparatus; At the beginning of the 20th century, Ernest Rutherford was studying the distinct types of radiation (alpha, beta, and gamma rays) emitted from radioactive elements. In 1908 Rutherford and Hans Geiger conducted a series of experiments to determine the charge and nature of the alpha particle. Their apparatus is described in the following reference: Ernest Rutherford, Radioactive Substances and their Radiations, Cambridge: 1913, p. 135, section 61, Fig. 28. Their original paper on these particular experiments is: “The Charge and Nature of the α-Particle” by Ernest Rutherford and Hans Geiger, Proceedings of the Royal Society A., Vol. 81, 1908, pp. 162-173. (This paper is reprinted in James Chadwick, ed., The Collected Papers of Lord Rutherford of Nelson, New York, 1963, Vol. 2, pp. 109-120); Object N-08019 was made at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, England, and is a copy of the original apparatus preserved in the Museum at the Cavendish Laboratory. See Cavendish Laboratory Museum photo at:; http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/museum/area4/images/cabinet_5.jpg; While both our replica and the original at the Cavendish Laboratory Museum resemble the Rutherford-Geiger apparatus as described in Rutherford and Geiger’s publications, they nevertheless differ in several details, as described below.; As described by Rutherford in the first of the above references, the apparatus had a short cylindrical central glass section with a ground joint at each end, into which fit closed-off glass pieces, one longer than the other. The apparatus was “exhausted to a charcoal vacuum” in order to avoid collisions of alpha particles with atoms in ambient air. Alpha particles emitted from a radioactive source in the lower of these end pieces passed up through aluminum foil mounted in the central section and were absorbed by a collector plate supported on insulators in the upper end piece. The current between the collector and the foil was measured with an electrometer. The rate of collection of alpha particles was calculated from the results of earlier experiments. These particular experiments yielded the charge on the alpha particle. Rutherford and Geiger found that each alpha particle carried a charge that was twice the “unit” charge (i.e., charge of hydrogen “atom”). They were thus able to infer that the alpha particle is an “atom” of helium.; Our replica, object N-08019, is as described by Rutherford in the above references, except that the alpha emitter consists of a brass ring on an insulated stem, with a wire across the ring, to which is soldered an axial wire bearing a rectangular plate at its upper end. And in our replica, there is no foil diaphragm across the central section, as in Rutherford’s description. The collector in our replica matches that as described by Rutherford. Further details on the differences between the Rutherford-Geiger apparatus and object N-08019 are contained in notes in the Curator’s file for this accession. The reason for these differences is not known. One possibility is that Rutherford and Geiger modified their apparatus after carrying out the experiments described in their paper.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1960

originator: Rutherford, Ernest
maker: University of Cambridge. Department of Physics. Cavendish Laboratory

ID Number: EM.N-08019
catalog number: N-08019
accession number: 224580

This is an model for the carriage clear/return on an SCM Model CMF calculating machine. It has a wood and plastic base and a metal frame. Along the left side, several parts are painted black and three of these are numbered 1, 4, and 5.

Description: This is an model for the carriage clear/return on an SCM Model CMF calculating machine. It has a wood and plastic base and a metal frame. Along the left side, several parts are painted black and three of these are numbered 1, 4, and 5. Three keys are at the front and an operating handle is on the right side.; A green piece of tape on the base of the model reads: CARRIAGE CLEAR / RETURN (/) REFER SERVICE INS (/) MODEL CONSOLIDATION CMF PG 2 FIG 1. It also reads: MODEL CMF. It also reads: MIDDLE DIAL CLEAR.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1962

maker: SCM Corporation

ID Number: MA.335381
catalog number: 335381
accession number: 318944

J.J. Thomson's cathode ray tube #2, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus. Object ID EM.N-08013-A; overall; length 30.5 cm, glass ball diam. 8.5 cm.This object consists of a glass cylindrical body with a larger diameter glass ball at one end.

Description: J.J. Thomson's cathode ray tube #2, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus. Object ID EM.N-08013-A; overall; length 30.5 cm, glass ball diam. 8.5 cm.; This object consists of a glass cylindrical body with a larger diameter glass ball at one end. Four shorter glass tubes with internal wires extend perpendicularly from the cylinderical body (see 1st object on left in accompanying image).; Basic principle; Rays from cathode in cylinder pass through 2 metal slots and between 2 metal plates onto glass ball. Metal plates can have electric field applied across them. External magnetic field can be applied to balance electric deflection. Used to determine the ratio of charge to mass (q/m) of the electron. For theory Ref: J.J Thomson, Phil. Mag., 44 (1897) 293. For a concise review of J.J. Thomson, the Cavendish Laboratory, and Thompson's cathode ray tube and positive ray apparatus, see J .J. Thomson - the Centenary of His Discovery of the Electron and his invention of Mass Spectrometry, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol.11, 2-16 (1997).; History; In the second half of the nineteenth century the phenomena accompanying the discharge of electricity through highly rarified gases received increasing attention from physicists. The development of theory and experimental technique raised expectations of insight from this quarter into the structure of the atom and the connection between matter and electricity. (See object ID EM.N-08253, Geissler tube demonstration apparatus.); In the early 1890s attention focused upon the rays which, at the highest evacuations, stream out from the negative pole (cathode) of the discharge tube and produce a fluorescent glow of its glass walls. Philip Lenard, working in Germany, greatly intensified the physicists' interest in these "cathode rays" by bringing them out of the discharge tube through a hole sealed with metal foil. (See object ID EM.N-08517, Discovery of electron display apparatus with cathode ray discharge tube.); Between 1897 and 1899 J. J. Thomson, Director of the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, produced convincing evidence that cathode rays were universal sub-atomic constituents of matter, of identical mass and electric charge. This was the discovery of the electron.; J. J. Thomson devised many discharge tubes in his study of cathode rays. The one with the greatest import, both for his research and for experimental techniques in the emergent field of atomic physics, effected the deflection of the cathode rays by electric and magnetic fields simultaneously. By this means Thomson measured the ratio of the charge to the mass of the "rays,” and established that they were particles, much lighter, and presumably much smaller, than atoms.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca. 1960

originator: Thomson, J. J.
manufacturer: University of Cambridge. Department of Physics. Cavendish Laboratory

ID Number: EM.N-08013-A
accession number: 224580
catalog number: N-8013-A

This is one of the last calculating machines manufactured by the Friden Division of The Singer Company.

Description: This is one of the last calculating machines manufactured by the Friden Division of The Singer Company. The full-keyboard electric non-printing machine has a metal frame painted brownish gray (taupe), a keyboard painted brown, and ten columns of brown and tan plastic number keys, with a blank tan clearance key at the bottom of each column. Metal rods between the columns of keys turn to indicate decimal places (in orange).; To the right are two columns of function bars. On the left is a nine-digit register that indicates numbers entered for multiplication. A knob for this register is on the left side of the machine. Below the register is a block of nine white digit keys, with a 0 bar below. These are surrounded by further levers and function keys.; The movable carriage at the back of the machine has an 11-digit revolution register and a 21-digit result register. Plastic buttons above the result register rotate to set up numbers. Ten numbered buttons are under the revolution register. Zeroing knobs for the registers are on the right of the carriage. These registers have sliding decimal markers as well. The machine has a thick piece of felt attached to the base, a rubber cord, and a light tan plastic cover.; A mark on the bottom of the machine reads: MODEL SERIAL (/) SVJ 24448. A mark on the sides reads: Friden. A mark on the cover reads: Friden (/) AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR. A sticker on the bottom reads: FRIDEN, INC. (/) SAN LEANDRO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.. A mark on the cord reads: SINGER.; Date based on serial number, courtesy of Carl Holm.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1966

maker: Friden, Inc.

ID Number: MA.334380
catalog number: 334380
accession number: 313935
maker number: SVJ 24448

This fully automatic electric non-printing, modified stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame in two shades of gray and ten columns of gray and white oblong plastic keys. At the bottom of each column is a key for clearing it.

Description: This fully automatic electric non-printing, modified stepped drum calculating machine has a steel frame in two shades of gray and ten columns of gray and white oblong plastic keys. At the bottom of each column is a key for clearing it. An automatic keyboard clear switch is at the front. Between the columns of keys and under the keyboard are metal rods that turn to serve as decimal markers. To the right of the number keys are subtraction and addition bars, two carriage shift keys, and a green enter multiplier key. Below these are three levers, one to set repeated entries, one for multiplication, and one for non-entry. Below these are three red keys relating to entering the dividend and a gray keyboard clear key. Beneath the number keys are five keys relating to multiplication and division. A DIVD ALIGN key is left of these.; In back of the keyboard is a carriage with a ten dials to show a number set up for multiplication, 21 dials to show the result, and a row containing ten white dials on the left and then 11 black dials. The white dials are revolution register dials that show multipliers in black or quotients in red. These do not have a carry. The black dials also register the multiplier in multiplication and the quotient in division and have a carry. Above the black dials is a row of 8 red and one yellow plastic buttons. The red buttons are tab stops for the carriage, and the yellow button releases the red ones. Sliding decimal markers are provided. A black electrical cord plugs into the back of the machine.; A mark on the carriage reads: MONROE. The same mark is on the back of the machine, with the Monroe logo trademarked in 1956. A mark on both right and left sides reads: MONROmatic. A paper sticker glued to the bottom of the machine reads: MONROE (/) CALCULATING MACHINE (/) COMPANY, INC. (/) ORANGE, N.J. U.S.A.. It also is marked with patent numbers that range from 2,250,403 to 2,732,129. The second patent date is from 1953. A metal tag attached to the bottom of the machine reads: MODEL 8N-213 (/) SERIAL J905667. There is no mention of Litton Industries, which acquired Monroe Calculating Machine Company in 1958.; Compare to 1980.0255.01 and 1984.3046.01.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1960

maker: Monroe Calculating Machine Company, Inc.

ID Number: MA.335425
catalog number: 335425
maker number: J905667
accession number: 319049

Some engineers continued to use slide rules even when they lost their sight. This is such an instrument; it may have been adapted from Keuffel & Esser's original product by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Description: Some engineers continued to use slide rules even when they lost their sight. This is such an instrument; it may have been adapted from Keuffel & Esser's original product by the American Foundation for the Blind. The ten-inch duplex rule is made from mahogany coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. It has an oversized plastic indicator with plastic edges and is held together with plastic dowels. Instead of a hairline there is a piece of wire held taut between 2 plastic pegs on the open frame of the indicator. One side of the base has LL02, LL03 and DF scales at the top and D, LL3, and LL2 scales at the bottom. The other side has LL01, L, K, A, D, DI, and LL1 scales. The slide has CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on one side and B, T, SRT, and S scales on the other. Some divisions on the A scale and both D scales on the base and the T, S, and C scales on the slide are marked with raised metal dots. Some of these dots indicate numbers in Braille.; On one side, the right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side, the left end of the slide is marked with a serial number: 397208. The left end of the top and the bottom of the base are both marked: 208. The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4081-3 LOG LOG DUPLEX DECITRIG ® COPYRIGHT 1947 BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 2,285,722 2,422,649. Keuffel & Esser used this arrangement of scales on model 4081-3 from 1955 to 1962; the serial number suggests this example was made around 1958. See MA.318482 and 1990.0687.01 for nonadapted examples of model 4081-3. The instrument is in a very dark green leather sleeve fitted to the oversized indicator.; This slide rule belonged to Moritz Otto Shollmier (1931–1972), the late husband of the donor. He was a mechanical engineer who graduated from the School of Engineering at the University of Arkansas in 1956. He lost his sight in 1961 as a result of the effects of diabetes and used this instrument for several years to design heating and air conditioning projects. He was also an avid ham radio operator.; References:; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg.; Accession file.; Gordon Anthony, "The K&E Braille Slide Rule," Journal of the Oughtred Society 2, no. 1 (1993): 19–20.; "Keuffel & Esser Braille Slide Rule," 2006.011.001; MIT Museum, http://webmuseum.mit.edu/detail.php?t=exhibitions&type=exh&f=&s=32&record=7.; "In Memory of WA5EFL Moritz Shollmier," http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/4073/wa5efl.html (accessed October 24, 2001).
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1955-1961

maker: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: MA.334387
catalog number: 334387
accession number: 313987

Wilson's cloud chamber, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus, Object ID EM.N- 08016. Overall: height 71 cm x width 35 cm x depth 35 cm.A wooden frame supports, above, a wide glass cylinder (the expansion chamber).

Description: Wilson's cloud chamber, replica of Cavendish Lab apparatus, Object ID EM.N- 08016. Overall: height 71 cm x width 35 cm x depth 35 cm.; A wooden frame supports, above, a wide glass cylinder (the expansion chamber). Extending to one side, below is a spherical glass vessel that can be evacxuated.; Components: expansion chamber; evacuated chamber; piston; inlets to pumps, to manometer, and for cooling water; and connections for residual clearing field. All supported by body of instrument and supported on wooden stand.; History and basic principle; Particle detectors are of two types: “counters” and “chambers.” The former merely signal the fact that a particle has passed through (from which signal the energy or velocity of the particle can often also be obtained). “Chambers,” however, do not merely signal a transiting charged particle, but trace its path and—most important—the paths of any other charged particles emerging from collisions which it may undergo with matter filling the chamber.; The first detector of the “chamber” type was the cloud chamber, devised in 1911 by C.T.R. Wilson at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, England. The tracks of charged particles are rendered visible by the condensation of water vapor about the ionized air molecules (nitrogen and oxygen) produced along the paths of fast-moving charged particles. The chamber is sealed and saturated with water vapor by the water in the trough. When the valve is opened by pulling to the left, the air under the piston rushes into the evacuated bulb. The piston drops suddenly, the air in the chamber is rendered super-saturated, and droplets of water condense about any ions present. The battery produces an electric field to sweep the chamber clear of ions after each expansion.

Date made: 1961 (original 1912)
date made: 1961 (original 1912)

originator: Wilson, C. T. R.
manufacturer: University of Cambridge. Department of Physics. Cavendish Laboratory

ID Number: EM.N-08016
accession number: 224580
catalog number: EM.N-08016

This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a metal frame painted gray and ten columns of white and gray color-coded plastic digit keys, Each column has nine keys. To the right of the digit keys are diverse function keys.

Description: This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a metal frame painted gray and ten columns of white and gray color-coded plastic digit keys, Each column has nine keys. To the right of the digit keys are diverse function keys. To the right of these are ten white keys for setting the multiplier. Right of these are two levers. Under the digit keys are a non-lock key and a carriage return key. Under the function keys is a lever. Over the function keys is another lever. Behind the digit keys are ten windows that show the number set up.; A movable carriage behind the entry register has a 20-digit result register, a row of ten buttons numbered from 1 to 10, and an 11-digit revolution register. The band of vinyl trim around the center of the frame is called a “vinyl channel” in documentation for the machine. There are four cork feet.; A mark on the front of the machine reads: SCM MARCHANT. A metal tag on the bottom reads: 10CMA 759928. A paper tag on the bottom lists several patents, the most recent of which is: 3017088. The machine is marked on the back SCM (/) MARCHANT.; Reference:; See 1979.3084.71.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1965

maker: SCM Corporation

ID Number: MA.335378
accession number: 318944
maker number: 759928
catalog number: 335378

This printing electric adding machine has a gray plastic case, a block of ten number keys, TOTAL, SUB-(/)TOTAL, -, and X keys to the right of the number keys, and two larger keys, one at each side of the keyboard.

Description: This printing electric adding machine has a gray plastic case, a block of ten number keys, TOTAL, SUB-(/)TOTAL, -, and X keys to the right of the number keys, and two larger keys, one at each side of the keyboard. One may enter numbers up to nine digits long and print ten-digit totals. The place indicator is above the keyboard and a printing mechanism is toward the back, with a place for a narrow paper tape ,and a plastic serrated edge for tearing it. There is no paper tape. There is a gray cord.; The machine is marked: General (/) 599. It is also marked: 521824. It is also marked: ; GENERAL GILBERT (/) CORP. It is also marked: PAT. NO. 2,667,304 (/) OTHER PATENTS PENDING (/) 110-120 VOLTS A.C.D.C. .8 AMPS(/) MADE IN U.S.A.; Remington Rand adding machine 1982.0474.01 has a “General” cover.; U.S. Patent 2,667, 304 was granted January 26, 1954, to Robert S. Wallach of Bernardsville, N.J., and Torkel E. Torkelson of Baldwin, N.Y. They assigned the patent to Associated Development and Research Corporation of New York, N.Y.. According to Chris H. Bailey’s Two Hundred Years of American Clocks and Watches, the William L. Gilbert Clock Corporation of Winsted, Conn., began to manufacture adding machines in 1953. In 1957 it was taken over by General Computing Machines Company and the name changed to the General-Gilbert Corporation. In the 1960 Moody’s Manual, the General-Gilbert Corporation is listed on p. 2504 as at 276 N.Main St. in Winstead, Conn., with O. Williams as as president. It is said to be a maker of clocks and timing devices. In the 1962 and 1967 Moody’s Manual, on p. 1764 and 2794 respectively, the General Gilbert Corporation is listed at the same address with R. S. Wallach president. In 1962, it is said to be a maker of adding machines and clocks. The clock division was sold in 1964, according to Bailey. The General Gilbert Corporation is not listed in Moody’s Manual for 1972 or 1977. Because it is marked with the name of General Gilbert Corporation, this adding machine was made between 1957 and about 1972. Because it lists a patent number from 1954, it probably was made before 1970, hence an approximate date of 1965.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1965

maker: General Gilbert Corporation

ID Number: MA.336449
maker number: 521824
accession number: 1977.1142
catalog number: 336449
patent number: 2667304

The front of this instrument is a six-wheeled stylus-operated plastic adding machine. Each wheel has a ring of ten holes. The holes are numbered from 0 to 9 counter-clockwise around the outside and from 0 to 9 clockwise around the inside.

Description: The front of this instrument is a six-wheeled stylus-operated plastic adding machine. Each wheel has a ring of ten holes. The holes are numbered from 0 to 9 counter-clockwise around the outside and from 0 to 9 clockwise around the inside. Outer digits are for addition, and inner ones are for subtraction. Square windows above the wheels show the result. A zeroing bar is on the right and a short aluminum stylus is on the left. The instrument is mounted on a piece of fiberboard. Behind it, mounted on a piece of wood on the fiberboard, are two rods, with five dials on each rod. Each dial has the digits from 0 to 9 around the outside. Each rod and its mounting slide along a track at the top of the instrument. These rods and dials were added by the donor, the inventor Waldemar Ayres (b. 1909).; The instrument is marked on the front: Dial-A-Matic ADDING MACHINE. It is also marked there: SP (/) STERLING. The letters “SP” are in a circle. The New Jersey firm of Sterling Plastics used the trademark of SP in a circle with a clear background from 1945, registered this as a trademark in 1953, and renewed the trademark in 1973. The company first used the term Dial-A-Matic in commerce in 1954, registered it as a trademark in 1955, and renewed the trademark in 1975. The device is based on a patent taken out by Otto Lehre of Springfield, New Jersey. Lehre applied for a patent April 30, 1954 and received it in 1957. The object came to the Museum in 1974. Hence it was created between 1955 and 1974. It seems likely that it dates from about 1960.; Reference:; Otto Lehre, "Calculator," U. S. Patent 2,797,047, June 25, 1957.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: ca 1960

maker: Sterling Plastics

ID Number: MA.335327
accession number: 310129
catalog number: 335327

This two-sided ten-inch mahogany slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide.

Description: This two-sided ten-inch mahogany slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side, the base has Sh1, Sh2, Th, A, D, DI, LL01, and LL1 scales, with B, T, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The trigonometric scales are divided into degrees and into decimals. The left end of the slide has a serial number: 344425. The left ends of both parts of the base are marked: 425. A glass indicator has plastic edges and metal screws. Compare to MA.335483.; The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4083-3 LOG LOG DUPLEX VECTOR ® COPYRIGHT 1947 BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 2,285,722 2,422,649. These patents were issued between 1939 and 1950. They dealt with the arrangement of scales on a slide rule, in particular so that the user could solve multistep problems without having to write down intermediate settings, and with the placement of a legend to make placing the decimal point easier. See 2007.0181.01 for patent citations.; There is no case. Keuffel & Esser of New York used this set of scales on this model number from 1955 to 1962. The serial number is consistent with a date earlier in this time frame. The company donated this example to the Smithsonian in 1961. The rule sold for $24.50 in the 1950s.; References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4083-3 Family of Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4083-3family.htm; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg; K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 280–281.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1955-1961

maker: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: MA.318481
catalog number: 318481
accession number: 235479

This is a ruby crystal from Theodore Maiman's experiments of May 1960, and may be the first crystal to generate laser light. The synthetic crystal was mounted in a small holder that also contained a spiral flashlamp of the type photographers used.

Description: This is a ruby crystal from Theodore Maiman's experiments of May 1960, and may be the first crystal to generate laser light. The synthetic crystal was mounted in a small holder that also contained a spiral flashlamp of the type photographers used. When the lamp flashed, the light pulse stimulated the atoms within the crystal. The atoms released that energy in the form of a laser light pulse.; Maiman earned a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford in 1955 and went to work at Hughes Research Laboratories the following year where he worked on masers. After attending a conference in September 1959, Maiman ran experiments investigating the possibility that a ruby crystal might be capable of emitting laser light. The experiments proved successful when, on 16 May 1960, he and assistant Irnee D’Haenes demonstrated the first operating laser. Rather than producing a continuous beam, their ruby laser operated in pulses. Their success caught the scientific community by surprise and was a pivotal moment in the history of lasers.; This crystal was one of several in the laboratory at the time of the experiments. No one knows with certainly which crystal actually generated the first laser light, though when the crystal was donated to the Smithsonian in 1967, officials at Hughes reported that this crystal was indeed the first.
Location: Currently not on view

Date made: 1960
associated date: 1960-07

associated institution: Hughes Research Laboratories
maker: Maiman, Theodore H.; Hughes Aircraft Company

ID Number: EM.330048
catalog number: 330048
accession number: 288813

This full-keyboard, non-printing electric calculating machine has a gray metal frame and ten columns of light gray number keys. All the keys are the same color. At the base of each column of keys is another key. These keys are numbered from right to left 0 to 9.

Description: This full-keyboard, non-printing electric calculating machine has a gray metal frame and ten columns of light gray number keys. All the keys are the same color. At the base of each column of keys is another key. These keys are numbered from right to left 0 to 9. Each controls a striped metal rod between two columns of keys. When the control key is pushed down, the rod moves up and red stripes show between the keys, between windows in a row of windows at the front of the machine, and between windows in a row of windows directly in back of the keyboard. This indicates a decimal point.; To the right of the number keys are various function keys, including one for squaring numbers. A row of dials in back of the keys indicates the number set up on the keyboard. A row of ten dials at the front of the machine is used to enter a multiplier. A movable carriage at the back has a 20-window result register and an 11-window revolution register. A small lever between each pair of keys on the carriage can slide to reveal a decimal marker.; A mark on the carriage reads: SCM MARCHANT. The serial number, on a metal tag attached to the bottom of the machine, is: SK-661050. A mark on the back of the machine reads: SCM.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1963

maker: SCM Corporation

ID Number: MA.335428
accession number: 319049
maker number: 661050
catalog number: 335428

This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculation machine has a metal frame painted two shades of gray, and ten columns of color-coded gray and light gray round plastic digit keys.

Description: This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculation machine has a metal frame painted two shades of gray, and ten columns of color-coded gray and light gray round plastic digit keys. To the right of the keyboard are a variety of charcoal-colored function keys. Right of these is a column of square plastic keys used in multiplication. Right of these keys is an on-off switch. Behind the digit keys is a row of ten dials showing the number entered.; The movable carriage behind the entry register has a 20-window result register and a 10-window revolution counting register. Under the windows of both of these registers is a row of metal flaps used as decimal markers. Under the decimal markers for the revolution register are ten rectangular buttons.; A mark on the left of the carriage reads: SCM MARCHANT. A metal tag attached to the bottom gives the serial number 10CM-671351. A paper tag on the bottom has a list of United States patent numbers, the most recent of which is 2973981. A mark on the back reads: FICA (/) 63180. A nearby mark reads: SCM.; The donor, a certified public accountant, had a collection of calculating machines. He indicated that the machine was manufactured in 1963 and originally cost $755.; Reference:; Accession File.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1963

ID Number: MA.335418
accession number: 319049
maker number: 671351
catalog number: 335418

This 20-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide.

Description: This 20-inch mahogany duplex slide rule is coated with white celluloid and held together with metal end pieces. On one side, the base has LL02, LL03, DF, D, LL3, and LL2 scales, with CF, CIF, CI, and C scales on the slide. The right end of the slide is marked in red: © (/) K + E. On the other side, the base has Sh1, Sh2, Th, A, D, DI, LL01, and LL1 scales, with B, T, SRT, and S scales on the slide. The first three scales are hypobolic scales. The trigonometric scales are divided into degrees and into decimals. The left end of the slide has a serial number: 640023. The left ends of both parts of the base are marked: 023. A glass indicator has plastic edges and metal screws. Compare to MA.318481; The top edge of the rule is marked: PATS. PEND. MADE IN U.S.A. 4083-5 LOG LOG DUPLEX VECTOR ® COPYRIGHT 1947 BY KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. PATS. 2,500,460 2,168,056 2,170,144 2,285,722 2,422,649. See 2007.0181.01 for a description of these patents. There is a green leather case with metal inlays on the holder for the flap. One of the inlays is marked: PAT. 2,000,337. The flap is marked: K + E. Adolf W. Keuffel applied to patent his method for securing a slide rule case on November 1, 1932, and received the patent on May 7, 1935.; Keuffel & Esser of New York used this set of scales on this model number from 1955 to 1962. The serial number is consistent with a date later in this time frame. The rule sold with the leather case for $56.50 in the 1950s.; References: Adolf W. Keuffel, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent 2,000,337 issued May 7, 1935); K + E Catalog, 42nd ed. (New York: Keuffel & Esser Co., 1954), 280–281; Keuffel & Esser Co., "Price List Applying to the 42nd Edition Catalog" (New York, June 1, 1956), 43; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4083-3 Family of Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEModels/ke4083-3family.htm; Ed Chamberlain, "Estimating K&E Slide Rule Dates," 27 December 2000, http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/ke/320-k+e_date2.jpg.
Location: Currently not on view

date made: 1955-1962

maker: Keuffel & Esser Co.

ID Number: MA.335483
accession number: 321673
catalog number: 335483

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