Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Place: California

Sheet, Simplified Instructions Magic-Brain Calculator

This paper sheet gives “simplified instructions” for using an adder called the Magic Brain Calculator for addition, description, multiplication, and as an aid in division. It was received with adder 1987.0575.01.Currently not on view
Description
This paper sheet gives “simplified instructions” for using an adder called the Magic Brain Calculator for addition, description, multiplication, and as an aid in division. It was received with adder 1987.0575.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
ID Number
1987.0375.02
catalog number
1987.0375.02
accession number
1987.0375

The Checkbook Balancer

Balancing credits and debits in a checkbook has long challenged many consumers.
Description
Balancing credits and debits in a checkbook has long challenged many consumers. In 1972, late in the age of mechanical aids to computation, the Diamond Check Division of Diamond International Corporation introduced this small adding machine that fit in a checkbook.
The stylus-operated tan plastic non-printing adding machine has six orange plastic wheels and an orange plastic stylus. A long slot across the top of the instrument fits into a checkbook. Each wheel has ten indentations on each side. The frame has openings around each wheel on both sides. These are numbered from 0 to 9. Deposits are entered by rotating wheels on the front of the instrument, and debits are entered by rotating wheels on the back. A blue paper envelope gives instructions.
The machine is marked on the front: THE CHECKBOOK BALANCER (/) DEPOSIT TURN DIALS (/) CLOCKWISE. It is marked on the back: THE CHECKBOOK BALANCER (/) DEDUCT TURN DIALS (/) CLOCKWISE. It is also marked there: PAT. PEND. (/) DIAMOND INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, and: U.S.A. It is marked on the paper case that holds the instrument: Diamond International Corporation, P.O. Bin 28, Arroyo Annex, Pasadena, California 91109.
Newspaper accounts indicate that this product was aimed particularly at women, as they were primarily responsible for balancing checkbooks. Devices were marketed to banks, who in turn sold them to customers for $3.00 or less. By April 1973 some 500,000 of the machines reportedly had sold. They would soon be replaced by inexpensive electronic calculators.
References:
Alexander Auerbach, "Pocketbook Computer May Aid System of Checks and Balances," Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1972, p. F12.
Display Advertisement, The Washington Post, June 6, 1972, p. A4.
Display Advertisement, Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1973, p. G6.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1972
distributor
Diamond International Corporation
ID Number
1989.0573.01
accession number
1989.0573
catalog number
1989.0573.01

Rapidesign No. 710 Speedi-Plan Drawing Template

This clear plastic template has holes in the shape of various pieces of office furniture as well as measuring scales for designing offices. Shapes are drawn to a scale of ¼” to a foot.
Description
This clear plastic template has holes in the shape of various pieces of office furniture as well as measuring scales for designing offices. Shapes are drawn to a scale of ¼” to a foot. This particular example was used to plan the layout of offices in the Mechanical and Civil Engineering collections of the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) when it first opened. A mark on the object reads: RAPIDESIGN (/) NO 710 (/) OFFICE PLAN (/) TEMPLATE.
A brown paper sleeve holds the instrument.
Versions of this RapiDesign template sold as early as 1950 and remained on sale at least as late as 2016. In 1963, the instrument cost $1.60.
References:
RapiDesign, Inc., Drafting Templates Catalogue No. 50, Glendale, California, 1950.
RapiDesign, Inc., Drafting Templates Catalogue No. 70, Burbank, California, 1963, p. 11.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1964
maker
RapiDesign, Inc.
ID Number
1985.3088.05
nonaccession number
1985.3088
catalog number
1985.3088.05

C-3PO, from Return of the Jedi

In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series.
Description
In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are costumes of R2-D2 and C-3PO from "Return of the Jedi," released in 1983 and the third film in the Star Wars series.
Designed from artwork by Ralph McQuarrie in 1975, R2-D2 looks more like a small blue-and-white garbage can than a human being. In the films, R2-D2 is the type of droid built to interface with computers and service starships--a kind of super technician suited for tasks well beyond human capability. By turns comic and courageous, this helpmate communicates with expressive squeals and head spins, lumbers on stubby legs, and repeatedly saves the lives of human masters.
Several R2-D2 units, specialized according to function and edited into a final composite, were used for making a single movie scene. Some units were controlled remotely. Others, like this one, were costume shells, in which actor Kenny Baker sat and manipulated the droid movements.
R2-D2's sidekick and character foil, based on art by Ralph McQuarrie, is C-3PO. Termed a protocol droid in the films, C-3PO serves the diverse cultures of Lucas' imaginary galaxy as a robotic diplomat and translator, speaking six million languages. Where R2 is terse, 3PO is talkative. Where R2 is brave, 3PO is often tentative and sometimes downright cowardly. Where R2 looks like a machine, 3PO--in spite of the distinctive gold "skin"--more closely resembles a human in movements, vision, and intelligence.
In each of the Star Wars films, actor Anthony Daniels wore the C-3PO costumes. Like the R2-D2 units, more than one C-3PO costume was used for each movie.
The Star Wars, films are much more than pop entertainment. Since the first of the series was released in 1977, they have been so immensely popular that they have become cultural reference points for successive American generations. And like other popular works of science fiction, they play a powerful role in shaping our vision of the future. Likewise, the droids are more than movie stars in these influential films. They are also indicators of the place of robots in the American experience. Conceived at a time when robots inhabited the imaginative worlds of science fiction rather than the real world, R2-D2 and C-3PO represent the enduring dream of having robots as personal servants, to do things we will not or cannot do for ourselves. Today, real robots are more numerous. They mostly work on industrial production lines, but researchers are working to extend the use of robots for tasks not humanly possible. It is likely we will see more of them in the future--as aids for medicine and surgery, for military and security, and even for exploring, if not a galaxy far away, at least the far reaches of our own solar system.
ID Number
1984.0302.02
accession number
1984.0302
catalog number
1984.0302.02

Omicron Ellipsograph

The Omicron Ellipsograph Model 17 was manufactured by the Omicron Company of Glendale, CA, in the 1950s. An oval shape, the ellipse is one of the four conic sections, the others being the circle, the parabola, and the hyperbola.
Description
The Omicron Ellipsograph Model 17 was manufactured by the Omicron Company of Glendale, CA, in the 1950s. An oval shape, the ellipse is one of the four conic sections, the others being the circle, the parabola, and the hyperbola. Ellipses are important curves used in the mathematical sciences. For example, the planets follow elliptical orbits around the sun. Ellipses are required in surveying, engineering, architectural, and machine drawings for two main reasons. First, any circle viewed at an angle will appear to be an ellipse. Second, ellipses were common architectural elements, often used in ceilings, staircases, and windows, and needed to be rendered accurately in drawings. Several types of drawing devices that produce ellipses, called ellipsographs or elliptographs, were developed and patented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The U.S. Army purchased several examples of this device for use in surveying and mapping.
The Omicron Ellipsograph is not an elliptic trammel like many of the other ellipsographs in the Smithsonian’s collections. This ellipsograph is a linkage, in particular a Stephenson type III linkage. A linkage is a mechanical device made of rigid bars connected by hinges or pivot points that move in such a way as to produce smooth mathematical curves. The most common types of linkages are used to draw true straight lines. See the Kinematic Models in the Smithsonian’s online collections for examples of other linkages.
In this ellipsograph, a metal bar is attached to two sliding brackets. One is on the stationary bar that runs horizontally across the device and is the major axis of the ellipse. The other sliding bracket is attached to a curved arm. A pencil is inserted through the hole at the top end of the bar. As the pencil is moved, the linkage articulates at five pivot points (the two adjustable sliders and three pivots as seen in the image). This constrains the pencil to move in an elliptic arc. Unlike the elliptic trammel, only half an ellipse can be drawn with this device, making it a semi-elliptic trammel. It can be turned 180 degrees to draw the other half of the ellipse. Although this device cannot draw a complete ellipse in one motion, it does have the advantage of being able to draw very small ellipses. By adjusting the distance between the two slider brackets, the eccentricity of the ellipse can be changed. Eccentricity is a number between zero and one that describes how circular an ellipse is. By moving the slider brackets closer together, the eccentricity of the ellipse is reduced, creating a more circular ellipse. As the brackets are moved farther apart, the eccentricity is increased and a more elongated ellipse is produced.
Several demonstrations of how an elliptic trammel works are available online. Comparing the slider motion of the elliptical trammel and the linkage ellipsograph highlights the similarities of the motion of these two ellipsographs. Both devices constrain the motion of the sliders so that as one moves inward on a straight line, the other slider moves outward on a straight line perpendicular to the first. Thus both types of ellipsographs produce an elliptic curve using the same mathematical theory, but incorporating different physical configurations.
The Omicron Ellipsograph is made of aluminium and steel on an acrylic base. The base is 18.5 cm by 8.5 cm (7 1/4 in by 3 3/8 in). The top bar is 18 cm (7 in) long. The whole linkage rests on the central pivot directly above the company logo. It can draw ellipses with major axes up to 12 inches long.
Resources:
Antique Drawing Instrument Collection, http://collectingme.com/drawing/.
John Byant, Chris Sangwin, How Round is Your Circle?: Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, p. 290.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1954
maker
Omicron
ID Number
1987.0379.02
accession number
1987.0379
catalog number
1987.0379.02

Pickett 140-ES Microline Student Duplex Slide Rule

This ten-inch yellow plastic duplex linear slide rule has a clear plastic indicator. The posts holding the rule together are also yellow plastic. The front of the base has LL2, LL3, and DF scales at the top and D, LL2, and LL3 scales at the bottom.
Description
This ten-inch yellow plastic duplex linear slide rule has a clear plastic indicator. The posts holding the rule together are also yellow plastic. The front of the base has LL2, LL3, and DF scales at the top and D, LL2, and LL3 scales at the bottom. The front of the slide has CF, CIF, L, CI, and C scales. The left end of the slide is marked: PickETT (/) MICROLINE (/) 140. The right end is stamped with the Pickett logo used between 1964 and 1975.
The back of the base has LL1, K, and A scales at the top and D, DI, and LL1 scales at the bottom. The back of the slide has B, S, ST, T, and C scales. The right end of the slide is also stamped with the 1964–1975 Pickett logo, featuring block letters with a triangle over the "I".
The rule slides into a black imitation leather stitched sheath. Earlier Pickett rules that were also intended for use by middle and high school students include 1991.0445.02 and 1984.1068.03.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964-1975
maker
Pickett Industries
ID Number
1989.0325.07
accession number
1989.0325
catalog number
1989.0325.07

Marchant Model ACT10M Calculating Machine

This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a metal case painted black and ten columns of green and white color-coded plastic keys. There is a red tabulator set key at the bottom of each column.
Description
This full-keyboard, non-printing electric proportional gear calculating machine has a metal case painted black and ten columns of green and white color-coded plastic keys. There is a red tabulator set key at the bottom of each column. These keys are numbered from 1 on the right to 10 on the left. The underlying keyboard is gold. Between banks of keys are rotating metal rods for decimal markers.
Right of the number keys are auto divide and stop keys, subtraction and addition bars, shift keys for use in multiplication, and a reverse key. In front of these are clearance keys for the tab set and the dials. Right of these is a column of ten keys for automatic multiplication and two carriage shift keys. Above the number keys is a row of ten windows to show a number set up (the decimal markers extend from between the number keys to between these windows).
Behind the entry register is a movable carriage with an 20-window result register and an 11-window revolution register. The registers on the carriage have sliding decimal markers. The motor is at the back of the machine, inside the case. Numbers are represented by the rotation of sets of gears on three shafts under the carriage. The machine sits on a stand (1988.0313.02) and has a black rubber cord.
A mark on the back of the machine reads: MARCHANT. A mark on the bottom reads: ACT10M-186265. A property tag at the front reads: PROPERTY OF (/) ESSA (/) 132015. A tag at the back reads: NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS (/) 510780.
In July 1966, part of the National Bureau of Standards merged with the Coast & Geodetic Survey and the Weather Bureau to form the Environmental Science Services Administration. In 1970, the activities of the ESSA were transferred to the newly extablished National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which was part of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (formerly NBS). This machine was transferred to the Smithsonian by NOAA.
Compare to Harold T. Avery’s 1940 U.S. patents 2,216,659, 2,211,736, and 2,217,195. See SCM Collection for related trade literature. The model ACT10M apparently was produced from 1940 until 1948.
References:
“Operating Instructions Marchant Calculators,” Oakland: Marchant Calculating Machine Company, 1942 (1979.3084.106).
“Model ACT-10M,” Oakland: Marchant Calculators, Inc., Form AC-4 (1979.3084.107.2)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1942
maker
Marchant Calculating Machine Company, Inc.
ID Number
1988.0315.01
catalog number
1988.0315.01
accession number
1988.0315
maker number
ACT10M-186265

Sheet Music, One-zy, Two-zy (I Love You-zy)

The bright pink cover of this sheet music shows two of the most common tools of mathematics teaching, the blackboard and the textbook. According to the cover, the words and music to the love song are by Dave Franklin and Irving Taylor.
Description
The bright pink cover of this sheet music shows two of the most common tools of mathematics teaching, the blackboard and the textbook. According to the cover, the words and music to the love song are by Dave Franklin and Irving Taylor. The sheet music was published in 1946 by Martin Music of Hollywood, California. Freddie Martin and his Orchestra recorded the song for RCA.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1946
maker
Martin Music
ID Number
1988.3086.042
catalog number
1988.3086.042
nonaccession number
1988.3086

Pickett 904-ES Decimal Keeper Duplex Slide Rule

This aluminum duplex slide rule has a yellow coating and a clear plastic indicator. The "ES" in the model number refers to the rule's "Eye Saver" yellow color. The rule and indicator are held together with aluminum braces that have protruding grooves.
Description
This aluminum duplex slide rule has a yellow coating and a clear plastic indicator. The "ES" in the model number refers to the rule's "Eye Saver" yellow color. The rule and indicator are held together with aluminum braces that have protruding grooves. The front of the rule has K, A, DF, D, and L scales, with CF, S, T, CI, and C scales on the slide. The scales are 9-1/2 inches long. The back of the rule has a D* scale, with T*, S* Cl*, and C* scales on the slide. Instead of covering the typical one decade of C and D scales, the scales with asterisks cover twenty decades, from 1010 to 10-10. These scales helped inexperienced users keep track of the decimal point. They performed their calculation first on the back, to determine the order of magnitude, and then a second time on the front, to make the answer precise to three significant figures.
The front of the slide is marked: MODEL 904-ES (/) TRIG AND (/) DECIMAL KEEPER (/) SPEED RULE. A Pickett logo is at the other end of the slide, with the number 47 printed above the logo. The back of the rule is marked: PATENT (/) APPLIED FOR; DECIMAL KEEPER; PICKETT & ECKEL, INC. (/) CHICAGO 3, ILL. - ALHAMBRA, CAL. The logo on this rule is that used by Pickett from 1958 to 1962. The shape and material of the cursor and the braces suggest a date of 1957–1959. Hence, the object appears to have a rough date of 1958–1959.
The donor patented an "automatic decimal point slide rule" and assigned the patent to Pickett. He also distributed Pickett slide rules through his own mail order firm of Devonics, Inc.
The rule was received in a plastic bag. For somewhat related documentation, see 1995.0126.04. See also Lawrence J. Kamm, "Automatic Decimal Point Slide Rule" (U.S. Patent 2,893,630 issued July 7, 1959).
References: Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 75–76, 100; Ron Manley, "Pickett 904-ES – Trig and decimal keeper," http://www.sliderules.info/collection/10inch/090/1096-pickett-904.htm; "Slide Rule Dates and Time-Lines," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958-1959
maker
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated
ID Number
1995.0126.01
accession number
1995.0126
catalog number
1995.0126.01

Biotech Beach Poster

This poster depicts some of the biotechnology firms of “Biotech Beach” (the San Diego area) in 1993. It was created by artist Terry Guyer for Synergistic Designs, a promotional media publisher.For more information, see object 1994.3092.01.
Description (Brief)
This poster depicts some of the biotechnology firms of “Biotech Beach” (the San Diego area) in 1993. It was created by artist Terry Guyer for Synergistic Designs, a promotional media publisher.
For more information, see object 1994.3092.01.
date made
1993
maker
Synergistic Designs
ID Number
1994.3092.02
catalog number
1994.3092.02
nonaccession number
1994.3092

Psychological Test, Stanford Scientific Aptitude Test for High School and College Students

Psychology professors and students at Stanford University – particularly students of Lewis M. Terman – were much interested in applications of paper and pencil tests. In 1926, David L. Zyve (1885-1945) completed a PhD. dissertation at Stanford on measuring scientific aptitude.
Description
Psychology professors and students at Stanford University – particularly students of Lewis M. Terman – were much interested in applications of paper and pencil tests. In 1926, David L. Zyve (1885-1945) completed a PhD. dissertation at Stanford on measuring scientific aptitude. It has eleven lettered parts and was reissued as late as 1930 – this version has 1929 and 1930 copyrights.
Polish-born Zyve had received his A.B. from the Classical Gymnasium in Warsaw, and further degrees from the University of Paris and the University of Grenoble. He came to the United States from France in 1916, attended Teachers College for a time, received his Stanford PhD. and apparently returned to New York where he worked as a teacher.
References:
Barbara Stoddard Burks, Dortha Williams Jensen, Lewis Madison Terman, The Promise of Youth: Follow-up Studies of a Thousand Gifted Children, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1930, vol. 3, pp. 144-146.
Miller, Rebecca B. “Making Scientific Americans: Identifying and Educating Future Scientists and Nonscientists in the Early Twentieth Century,” Doctoral Dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2017, pp. 175-182.
David L. Zyve, “An Experimental Study of Scientific Aptitude,” PhD. Dissertation, Stanford University, 1926.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
maker
Zyve, D. L.
Stanford University Press
ID Number
1989.0710.09
accession number
1989.0710
catalog number
1989.0710.09

Psychological Test, MacQuarrie Test for Mechanical Ability

Thomas W. Macquarrie (1879-1963), was born in Ontario, Canada, and attended normal school and taught for a time in Wisconsin. He then served as a principal of a private boy’s school. At the time of World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of major.
Description
Thomas W. Macquarrie (1879-1963), was born in Ontario, Canada, and attended normal school and taught for a time in Wisconsin. He then served as a principal of a private boy’s school. At the time of World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of major. After the war, he studied psychology at King’s College, London. Macquarrie then enrolled at Stanford University, earning his bachelor’s, master’s and PhD. in the space of four years. After a brief time at the University of Southern California, he became president of San Jose State College, serving in this capacity from 1927 until his retirement in 1952.
The “Macquarrie Test for Mechanical Ability” is based on his dissertation work. It is a group performance test designed for the use of school counselors and personnel managers. This example, copyrighted 1925, is a sixteen-page stapled pamphlet divided into seven subtests named tracing, tapping, dotting, copying, location, blocks, and pursuit.
The donor of the object, David Gold, worked as a personnel officer from the 1920s into the 1970s. In this capacity, he accumulated a variety of paper-and-pencil tests which he donated to the Smithsonian in 1989. This is one of them.
References:
T. W. Macquarrie, “A Measure of Mechanical Ability,” PhD. Dissertation. Stanford University, 1924.
T. W. Macquarrie, “A Mechanical Ability Test,” Journal of Personnel Research, January 1927.
“Dr. MacQuarrie’s Funeral Today,” Spartan Daily, November 18, 1963, p. 1.
Accession File.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
author
MacQuarrie, T. W.
publisher
California Test Bureau
ID Number
1989.0710.05
accession number
1989.0710
catalog number
1989.0710.05

Lasico 2000-V Square Root Planimeter with Turntable

This planimeter is designed to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart that rests on a turntable underneath the instrument.
Description
This planimeter is designed to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart that rests on a turntable underneath the instrument. The planimeter has a 4" green metal angled arm with an adjusting screw and tracer lens; a 6" curved metal arm with a mounting screw and a slotted follower that is inserted in the turntable; and a green metal recording unit with white plastic measuring wheel and vernier and a metal registering dial. The recording unit is marked: LASICO. Underneath the curved metal arm is a serial number: 66607.
The circular white paper chart is marked: Taylor (/) ROCHESTER, N.Y., U.S.A. (/) CHART OP2750 (/) METER ORIFICE (/) TAYLOR INSTRUMENT COMPANIES. The square root symbol is in front of the word CHART. The hours of the day are printed around the outside of the chart. The turntable is black plastic. It is fastened to a white plastic rectangular base. Underneath the base is marked: TURNTABLE 1 06. It is also marked: MADE IN USA (/) MRC R 20 FF.
According to the donor, who worked for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company from 1950 until it closed in 2008, this example was made in 1955 as model 2000-V. It replaced model 125, which had a tracer point instead of a tracer lens. Model 2000-V sold for $550.00 in 1955. For a later example and company history, see 2011.0043.01. The turntable was model 1006 and sold for $225.00.
Taylor Instrument Companies copyrighted the OP2750 chart on June 13, 1933. The firm has a history of selling and making thermometers, barometers, and other instruments that dates back to 1851.
The object was received at the Smithsonian in 2011.
References: Accession file; "The Taylor Story," http://www.taylorusa.com/taylor-about; Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries . . . for the Year 1933, part 4, n.s., vol. 28, no. 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1934).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.02
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.02

Pickett N15-T Hydraulic Duplex Slide Rule for Georgia Iron Works

From the 1650s people have devised special-purpose slide rules for tasks such as carpentry and tax collection. In 1961 Danforth (Danny) W.
Description
From the 1650s people have devised special-purpose slide rules for tasks such as carpentry and tax collection. In 1961 Danforth (Danny) W. Hagler of the Georgia Iron Works Company in Augusta, Ga., designed this slide rule to replace the 100-page notebook of graphs carried by each GIW engineer. GIW also distributed the rule to customers to assist with ordering and operating pumps and pipelines. Pickett & Eckel, the California slide rule manufacturer, assisted with the design and produced the slide rules. For Pickett company history, see 1998.0119.02 and 2000.0203.01.
This ten-inch, two-sided white aluminum instrument has metal endpieces and a nylon cursor with white plastic edges. The front has logarithmic scales for calculating the kinetic energy and flow rate of a liquid or slurry moving through a pipeline. The top of the base is marked: HYDRAULIC SLIDE RULE (/) GEORGIA IRON WORKS CO. (/) EST. 1891 (/) AUGUSTA GEORGIA. The left end of the slide has a GIW logo. The right end of the slide has the triangular Pickett logo used between 1958 and 1962 and is marked: 338. The bottom of the base is marked: DESIGNED BY D. W. HAGLER.
The back has logarithmic scales for determining the head produced by a pump, impeller peripheral speed, brake horsepower, and specific speed. Standard C and D scales were added around 1969. The right end of the slide is marked: PICKETT (/) MODEL N 15-T (/) 337. The rule fits in an orange leather case with a belt loop. The front of the case is marked: HYDRAULIC SLIDE RULE (/) GIW (/) D. W. HAGLER (/) Pickett. The case fits inside a redwood box.
This particular rule was Hagler's personal example of the instrument in production. GIW was his family's business, and his brother, Tom, wrote an instruction manual for the rule (2009.0100.02). Hagler went on to work on computer software for production control. He sold his interest in GIW in 1986.
References: Helen Callahan, Georgia Iron Works: The First 100 Years (Columbia, S.C.: The R. L. Bryan Company, [1991]), 46–49; Michael V. Konshak, "Developing the Georgia Iron Works Hydraulic Slide Rule: Negotiating with Pickett & Eckel to Make a Special Slide Rule," Journal of the Oughtred Society 19, no. 2 (2010): 33–37; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1961
date received
2009
maker
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated
ID Number
2009.0100.01
accession number
2009.0100
catalog number
2009.0100.01

Lasico 130-E Mechanical Integrator with Electronic Readout

Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929) immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company.
Description
Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929) immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company. He oversaw design and production of the firm's planimeters, integrators, pantographs, and various optical instruments until Lasico closed in 2008.
This is the electronic version of the Lasico mechanical integrator 130. It has a metal framework painted green that carries two guide wheels, two reference guides (one for moment of inertia and the other for moment of area) and a tracer arm with two tracer points. The guide wheels fit into a metal guide rail. Two reference guides also fit into the guide rail and a metal counter weight fits into the framework, resting on the other side of the rail.
In addition to these pieces, there are three digital readouts for displaying measurements of area (marked A), moment of area (marked M), and moment of inertia (marked I).
All the pieces of the instrument, other than the rail, fit into a leather-covered wooden case. A photograph of Berktold is taped to the inside lid of the case, as well as a sheet of information about the instrument. This sheet gives a date of 1985. The guide rail is longer than the case is wide (it measures 78.5 cm. w. x 5 cm. d. x 1.3 cm. h.), and is stored separately.
A related pamphlet is entitled “The Lasico Mechanical Integrator.”
Compare 2011.0043.04.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1985
ID Number
2016.0064.02
accession number
2016.0064
catalog number
2016.0064.02

Lasico 1282 C Planimeter / Digitizer

This computing device measures the length of lines, both straight and curved, as well as the area enclosed by curves. It shows the results on a digital readout to a scale set by the user.
Description
This computing device measures the length of lines, both straight and curved, as well as the area enclosed by curves. It shows the results on a digital readout to a scale set by the user. It also computes the sum of both lengths and areas, and the difference between a larger area or length and a smaller one, again showing a digital result.
The metal base rolls on two metal wheels and connects to a metal arm with cursor and handle. A cable that extends from the back of the base connects to a display panel, a keypad, and a power adapter. A short black arm stored at the front of the case connects to the back of the base and serves as a guide for the cable.
Three sets of sheets were received with the object. One is entitled: BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS. The second is entitled: INSTRUCTION SUPPLEMENT FOR LASICO MODEL 1282C. The third is entitled: SERIES 1282 PLANIMETER / DIGITIZER.
The donor, Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929), immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company. He oversaw design and production of the firm's planimeters, integrators, pantographs, and various optical instruments until Lasico closed in 2008. According to Berktold, he built the planimeter/digitizer in 1996. It sold for a list price of $1425.00, with additional shipping costs of $47.10. The donation was made in 2016.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1996
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2016.0064.01
accession number
2016.0064
catalog number
2016.0064.01

Lasico 2000-V Square Root Planimeter

This analog instrument uses integration to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart. It was particularly useful for calculations of rates of flow and total flow of liquids.
Description
This analog instrument uses integration to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart. It was particularly useful for calculations of rates of flow and total flow of liquids. The planimeter has a 4" black plastic arm with an adjusting screw and tracer lens; a 6" curved metal arm with a mounting screw and a slotted follower that is inserted in the chart board; and a white metal recording unit with white plastic measuring wheel and vernier and a metal registering dial. The recording unit is marked: LASICO (/) USA. Underneath the curved metal arm is a serial number: 97661.
A black plastic case is lined with black and red foam padding. A label inside the lid is marked: DESIGNED AND BUILT BY (/) MAXIMILIAN BERKTOLD, CALIFORNIA – USA. An extra tracing lens is inside the case. The bottom of the case is marked with the recycling symbol around the number 2 and above the letters HDPE. The instrument was received with instructions, 2011.0043.01.01.
Georg Lory (1897–1968) worked for several German instrument manufacturers, including R. Reiss, before he immigrated to the United States in 1925 and worked for the Eugene Dietzgen Company in its San Francisco office. In 1929 he established the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company in Los Angeles. He repaired and made equipment including surveying instruments, planimeters, and pantographs. In 1944 he applied for a patent on the square root planimeter, receiving it in 1949. According to the donor, who joined the company in 1950, this example was made in 1990 as model 2000-V. It sold for $865.00 and was intended for use with Foxboro Chart 898418. For an earlier example, see 2011.0043.02. Lasico closed in 2008, although Absolute Accuracy, a successor firm in the same location, continues to distribute models 10, 20, and 30.
The instrument reached the Smithsonian in 2011.
References: Georg Lory, "Square Root Radial Averager" (U.S. Patent 2,458,009 issued January 4, 1949); accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.01
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.01

Instructions for Lasico Square Root Planimeter

This four-page pamphlet shows model 125 of the Lasico square root planimeter, which sold in the 1940s for $135.00. It had a tracer point, unlike the later model 2000-V (2011.0043.01 and 2011.0043.02), which had a tracer lens.
Description
This four-page pamphlet shows model 125 of the Lasico square root planimeter, which sold in the 1940s for $135.00. It had a tracer point, unlike the later model 2000-V (2011.0043.01 and 2011.0043.02), which had a tracer lens. The pamphlet explains how to read the instrument and apply its readings to rate of flow calculations.
Reference: Lasico Mathematical Engineering Instruments (Los Angeles: Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company, [1940–1945]), B-9.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.01.01
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.01.01

Lasico L30-A Electronic Polar Compensating Planimeter Prototype

This metal prototype for an electronic polar planimeter has an adjustable 12" tracer arm with lens. The top of the arm is divided to millimeters and numbered from 10 to 24 centimeters. The bottom is marked with a serial number: 45254.
Description
This metal prototype for an electronic polar planimeter has an adjustable 12" tracer arm with lens. The top of the arm is divided to millimeters and numbered from 10 to 24 centimeters. The bottom is marked with a serial number: 45254. The arm slides into a painted metal holder for an electronic measuring unit with a plug. The holder has a vernier for the scale on the tracer arm and is marked: LASICO. The plug attaches to a Series 40 processor with a digital screen for displaying the measurement and a knob for setting the instrument to OFF, A, ACCU, or B. An AC adapter by Calrad, a Taiwanese company, powers the processor.
An adjustable 10" pole arm fits into the holder at one end and a rectangular painted metal pole weight at the other end. The weight is marked: LASICO (/) U.S.A. The arm is divided to millimeters and numbered by tens from 30 to 60 millimeters. The adjusting part of the arm is marked: LASICO. An additional tracer arm with a point instead of a lens has serial number: 45275. A business card for the designer, who also donated the instrument, an extra lens, and two plastic washers for the lens are inside a black plastic case lined with foam.
Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929) immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company. He oversaw design and production of the firm's planimeters, integrators, pantographs, and various optical instruments until Lasico closed in 2008. He developed this prototype around 1970 from the company's model L30 mechanical planimeter, but the final version was sold as model series 40 and 50. These devices cost several hundred dollars.
An 18-page booklet, "LASICO Instruction Manual [for] Digital Compensating Polar Planimeters," was received with the instrument. It contains the calibration settings for a model L50-E, serial number 65879. For company history, see 2011.0043.01.
This instrument reached the Smithsonian if 2011.
Reference: Accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.03
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.03

Pickett N3-ES Duplex Slide Rule

This ten-inch aluminum duplex linear slide rule is coated with Pickett's distinctive "eye saver" yellow coloring. The magnifying indicator is made of nylon (the "N" in the model number) with white plastic sides.
Description
This ten-inch aluminum duplex linear slide rule is coated with Pickett's distinctive "eye saver" yellow coloring. The magnifying indicator is made of nylon (the "N" in the model number) with white plastic sides. The front top of the base has two extended square root scales and K and A scales. The front bottom of the base has D, DI, and three extended cube root scales. The front of the slide has B, ST, S, two extended T, CI, and C scales. The left of the slide is marked: PickETT (/) MODEL N 3-ES (/) POWER LOG EXPONENTIAL (/) LOG LOG DUAL BASE. The right of the slide is marked: ALL METAL (/) SLIDE RULES (/) PickETT (/) MADE IN U.S.A. The red printing on the front of the rule has faded considerably.
The back top of the base has LL0, LL1, and DF scales. The back bottom of the base has D, LL2, and LL3 scales. The back of the slide has CF, CIF, Ln, L, CI, and C scales. The left of the slide is marked: COPYRIGHT 1960© (/) PATENT APPLIED FOR. The right of the slide bears the third Pickett logo on the instrument. The burgundy leather case is partially lined with blue velvet to protect the magnifier and has another logo (in gold) below the slot for the case's flap. The back of the case has a ring on the back for a belt strap, but the strap is missing.
This example of Model N3 was owned and used by the mathematician and theoretical computer scientist, Harley Flanders. It is identical to 1980.0097.01 except for its color and magnifying indicator. Pickett switched from glass to nylon indicators in 1958 and used this logo from 1964 to 1975. Pickett also moved from Alhambra, Calif., to Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1964. The mention on the instrument of a patent application may refer to a patent for a case issued to John W. Pickett in 1960. Pickett was the son of company founder Ross C. Pickett and served as president from 1957 to 1967. For early company history, see 1979.0601.02.
References: Peter M. Hopp, "Slide Rule Scales," Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 285–287; International Slide Rule Museum, "Pickett All-Metal Slide Rules," http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Dates.htm#Pickett; John W. Pickett, "Slide Rule Case" (U.S. Patent D187,632 issued April 5, 1960).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
date received
2009
user
Flanders, Harley
maker
Pickett Industries
ID Number
2009.0019.01
accession number
2009.0019
catalog number
2009.0019.01

Integrator, LASICO Model 130-V

This mechanical integrator has a metal framework painted off-white that carries two guide wheels, two reference guides (one for moment of inertia and the other for moment of area), and a tracer arm with two tracer points. The guide wheels fit into a metal rail.
Description
This mechanical integrator has a metal framework painted off-white that carries two guide wheels, two reference guides (one for moment of inertia and the other for moment of area), and a tracer arm with two tracer points. The guide wheels fit into a metal rail. Two reference guides also fit into the rail and a metal counter weight fits into the framework, resting on the other side of the rail.
All the pieces of the instrument other than the rail fit into a leather-covered wooden case. Labeled photographs of designer Maxmilian Berktold and Susan Jen are inside of the case, with labels. The rail (2011.0043.04.1)is longer than the case is wide (it measures 77 cm. w. x 5 cm. d. x 1.3 cm. h.), and is stored separately.
There also are pamphlets entitled “The Lasico Mechanical Integrator” (2011.0043.04.2) and “Mathematical Engineering Instruments,” (2011.0043.04.3) as well as a leaflet entitled “LASICO Mechanical Integrators” (2011.0043.04.4) This instrument is most like one shown in the leaflet, which dates from 1980.
The model 130-V mechanical integrator had a catalog price of $1500.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
maker
Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
ID Number
2011.0043.04
accession number
2011.0043
catalog number
2011.0043.04

Friden Model CH10 Calculating Machine

In 1936, the young Friden Calculating Machine Company not only moved from Oakland, California, to a new factory in San Leandro, but introduced several new models.
Description
In 1936, the young Friden Calculating Machine Company not only moved from Oakland, California, to a new factory in San Leandro, but introduced several new models. These included the manually operated H8 (with eight columns of keys) and H10 (with ten columns of keys), as well as the electrically operated F8 and F10. This machine matches the description of the H8, although a mark at the front of the base reads: CH-8-50004. If this is an H8, the serial number dates it to 1936.
The slightly greenish black machine is largely of metal with plastic keys, a wooden handle on the operating crank on the right side, and rubber around the joints. The 8 x 9 x 17 device has eight columns of color-coded keys for entering numbers. At the back, on the moveable carriage, are a nine-digit revolution register and a seventeen-digit result register. Rotating decimal marker rods separate the columns of keys and the registers on the carriage have sliding decimal markers. These registers also have zeroing rods on the right of the carriage. The mechanism of the machine is a modified form of stepped drum.
A mark on both sides reads: FRIDÉN. A mark on the back at the bottom reads: MADE IN U.S.A. The dimensions depend on the position of the carriage.
Compare 1982.0243.01, and electrically operated C10 from about the same year.
According to the donor, this calculating machine was found in a home that once belonged to Smithsonian Secretary Charles G. Abbot (1872-1973), with documents and other objects that once belonged to Abbot.
References:
Accession File.
American Office Machines Research Service, III, especially Sections 4.3 and 4.31,1938.
Friden Age List, Photo-Reprint by Office Machine Americana, Lewiston, Idaho, p. 2.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Friden Calculating Machine Company, Inc.
ID Number
2019.0292.01
accession number
2019.0292
catalog number
2019.0292.01

Pickett Model N 3-ES Duplex Slide Rule

This duplex linear slide rule, made of aluminum with an “eye saver yellow” coating, has numerous scales that are 10 inches long. The front has on the top of the base two square root scales, a K scale, and an A scale.
Description
This duplex linear slide rule, made of aluminum with an “eye saver yellow” coating, has numerous scales that are 10 inches long. The front has on the top of the base two square root scales, a K scale, and an A scale. At the bottom of the front of the base are a D scale, a D1 scale, and three scales for cube roots. The front of the slide has B, ST, S, two T, C1 and C scales. The back of the base has at the top two LL0 and two LL1 scales, as well as a DF scale. At the bottom of the back of the base are a D scale, two LL2 scales and two LL3 scales. On the back of the slide are CF, C1F, Ln, L, C1 and C scales. The indicator is made from plastic and held together with metal screws. The leather case has a hook on the back which connects to a belt strap. A copper-colored plate on the front of the case reads: BILL NYE. A pen mark inside the flap reads: Bill Nye.
Donor Bill Nye acquired the slide rule as a gift from his parents over winter break in 1971. He used it from 1971 until 1975, in high school and in engineering school at Cornell University. Nye went on host "Bill Nye the Science Guy," a Public Broadcasting System television show for children.
This slide rule was copyrighted in 1960. The logo on it is that used by Pickett from 1964 until 1975.
Compare 2016.0283.01 and 2009.0019.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971
maker
Pickett Industries
ID Number
2016.0283.01
accession number
2016.0283
catalog number
2016.0283.01

Multiflex Curve by Devonics

Some drawing curves, such as those manufactured by Keuffel & Esser, sold in the same form for decades. Others proved less enduring.
Description
Some drawing curves, such as those manufactured by Keuffel & Esser, sold in the same form for decades. Others proved less enduring. The Multiflex curve distributed by Devonics, Inc., of San Diego, California, is in the second category.
The rectangular, transparent plastic instrument has a flexible side adjacent to a large opening. The side moves to any of seven positions, creating several wing-shaped closed curves. A mark on the front of the instrument reads: No. 12. A paper sticker reads: DEVONICS INC. (/) BOX 7158 (/) SAN DIEGO, CA. 92107. The object fits in a clear plastic bag with a yellow paper sheet that reads in part: MULTIFLEX TM (/) 7 (/) CURVES (/) IN (/) 1 (/) 12 INCH SIZE (/) ALSO AVAILABLE IN (/) 18 INCH AND (/) 24 INCH SIZES.
According to the donor, Lawrence J. Kaam, the curve was invented by John Toth, an engineer who worked for Kaam at Numerical Control Corporation between 1961 and 1965. Toth manufactured some of the instruments but was not successful in marketing. When Kaam started Devonics, Inc., he purchased Toth’s rights and started selling the Multiplex. Devonics was in business from 1967 until 1968 and from 1970 to 1971.
Reference:
Accession File.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
maker
Devonics Inc.
ID Number
1995.0126.03
accession number
1995.0126
catalog number
1995.0126.03

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