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.

Painting - Squares of 2, 4, 16 from Square Root of x

In this painting, Crockett Johnson supposed that one was given two lengths, one the square root of the second.
Description
In this painting, Crockett Johnson supposed that one was given two lengths, one the square root of the second. Although no numerical values were given, he sought to construct three squares, one the square root of the second and the second the square root of the third, and to give their values numerically. His solution is represented in the painting, and described in his notes as work from 1972.
The three squares are visible, one the entire surface of the painting and the two others within it. The vertical lines point to the starting point of the painting, a line segment along the base and its square root. From here, Crockett Johnson constructed the elaborate geometrical argument illustrated by the painting. He claimed that he had constructed squares of area 2, 4, and 16. The ratios of the areas are as he describes, but the absolute numerical values depend on the units of measure.
This oil painting on masonite is #88 in the series. It is unsigned. There is an inset metal strip in the wooden frame.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.57
catalog number
1979.1093.57
accession number
1979.1093

Comb, Electrophoresis

This white plastic electrophoresis comb has 20 tines.Electrophoresis combs are used to create the wells in gels for electrophoresis, a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecules to separate them by their length. It is often used to analyze DNA fragments.
Description (Brief)
This white plastic electrophoresis comb has 20 tines.
Electrophoresis combs are used to create the wells in gels for electrophoresis, a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecules to separate them by their length. It is often used to analyze DNA fragments. When a gel is poured, a comb is inserted. After the gel solidifies, the comb is removed, leaving wells for samples.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Genentech, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.18
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.18

The First Atomic-Beam Clock

The remarkable advances in electronics and microwave technology made during World War II stimulated the physicists who had worked on them to imagine new applications after the war for peacetime conditions.
Description
The remarkable advances in electronics and microwave technology made during World War II stimulated the physicists who had worked on them to imagine new applications after the war for peacetime conditions. An outstanding example is the cesium-beam frequency standard, one of several types of "atomic clock" developed in the postwar years.
This is the experimental instrument built under the supervision of Jerrold Zacharias at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954. It showed that the atomic beam principle was feasible as a technique for extremely precise timekeeping, and paved the way immediately for a commercial version closely modeled on it.
The idea on which it relied had been known for two decades. The American physicist I. I. Rabi had applied it in the late 1930s to precise measurements of the magnetic moments and "spins" of nuclei of various kinds of atoms. Rabi knew that atoms behave as tiny magnets: a beam of them, traveling in a vacuum, can be deflected slightly by passing through a non-uniform magnetic field.
Furthermore, the strength of the atomic magnet, and its direction relative to that of the magnetic field, can be altered by microwaves whose frequency exactly matches (is in resonance with) a frequency characteristic of the atoms used in the experiment. Rabi's apparatus detected the change in deflection of the atomic beam when this resonance occurred.
In 1953, Zacharias, who as a graduate student had collaborated in Rabi's prewar experiments, started vigorous work on making such an atomic-beam apparatus function as a clock. By the next summer, he and his student R. D. Haun, assisted by visiting researcher J. G. Yates, were able to make the atomic vibrations of a cesium beam control a crystal oscillator, whose frequency then became as precise as that of the cesium atoms. This oscillator frequency in turn could be used for timekeeping far more precise than any previously possible.
The device shown is the atomic beam portion, the heart of the system, which was enclosed in a tall vacuum chamber when in use. Cesium atoms boiled out of an oven near the bottom and formed a beam, which passed a deflecting magnet, and then traversed a space in which it was subjected to the oscillating microwave field. It then passed a second deflecting magnet, which served to bring the atoms to a focus, as in Rabi's method, on a detector. This determined any deviation from resonance and sent a signal to circuits which adjusted the microwave frequency accordingly.
Zacharias's apparatus is noteworthy for being designed as a prototype for an instrument intended to be sold commercially. Unlike the traditional horizontal atomic beam apparatus, this one stood compactly vertical. It used permanent magnets rather than electromagnets; had convenient connections for vacuum pump, electronics, and microwaves; and had an oven designed to run for a long time without stopping. Zacharias persuaded the National Company, a manufacturer of radio equipment in nearby Malden, Mass., to take on the task of developing a commercial version under his supervision. After overcoming many difficulties, they began delivering the "Atomichron" in the autumn of 1956, mainly to military laboratories. Despite its high cost, $50,000, it sold well to those laboratories, and the Signal Corps declared that it "performed well beyond all expectations."
Reference: Paul Forman, "'Atomichron': The Atomic Clock from Concept to Commercial Product," Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 73, No. 7, July 1985, pp. 1811-1204.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1955
maker
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ID Number
EM.319767
catalog number
319767
accession number
254080

Painting -Law of Orbiting Velocity (Kepler)

This piece is a further example of Crockett Johnson's exploration of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion. The ellipse represents the path of a planet, and the white sections represent equal areas swept out in equal times.
Description
This piece is a further example of Crockett Johnson's exploration of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion. The ellipse represents the path of a planet, and the white sections represent equal areas swept out in equal times. This work, a silk screen inked on paper board, is signed: CJ66. It is #76 in the series, and it echoes painting #22 (1979.1093.16) and painting #99 (1979.1093.66).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Kepler, Johannes
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.50
catalog number
1979.1093.50
accession number
1979.1093

Test Tube

The test tube is one of the most commonly used pieces of laboratory ware, available in many sizes ranging from less than 1 inch to 6 inches in length.
Description
The test tube is one of the most commonly used pieces of laboratory ware, available in many sizes ranging from less than 1 inch to 6 inches in length. The test tube was developed by Michael Faraday (1791-1867), the renowned British physicist and chemist, to replace the much larger wine glass test glass. Test tubes are the perfect shape and size to hold small amounts of substances, usually liquid, which are then manipulated in some way, such as being placed over the flame of a Bunsen burner.
The test tube has changed little since the early 19th century, although it is now made of plastic as well as glass.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CH.315121.056
catalog number
315121.056
accession number
215563

pansy, encapsulated

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.A.7559
accession number
198812
catalog number
A.7559

Probing the Human Genome

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1993
ID Number
1994.3125.15
nonaccession number
1994.3125
catalog number
1994.3125.15

Cylinder-type Electrostatic Machine

People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism.
Description (Brief)
People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
This machine, made around 1780, includes a steel T-shaped charge collector or prime conductor mounted to one side of the cylinder and a leather pad with silk cloth to mounted on the other side. Both mounts are adjustable by means of wooden screws set in the base. During the 1750s electrical researchers refined the design of electrostatic machines by replacing earlier spherical globes with a glass cylinder, a design used for many years. This change increased the surface area of the glass in contact with the rubbing pad and improved the efficiency of the generator. There is no extant maker's mark on the machine although it is of the type designed by Edward Nairne in the 1780s. Nairne (1726-1806) of England made electrical and other scientific devices.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1780
associated person
Nairne, Edward
ID Number
EM.315180
catalog number
315180
accession number
216217

Publication Plate

This publication plate was used in an article in Science, “RNA Codewords and Protein Synthesis” by Marshall Nirenberg and Philip Leder. It describes results from the National Institute of Health lab of Dr.
Description (Brief)
This publication plate was used in an article in Science, “RNA Codewords and Protein Synthesis” by Marshall Nirenberg and Philip Leder. It describes results from the National Institute of Health lab of Dr. Marshall Nirenberg, a scientist who won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in helping to “crack the genetic code,” or to understand the way DNA codes for the amino acids that are linked to build proteins.
By the late 1950s, scientists understood that DNA was the molecule containing the instructions for life. The structure of DNA was also known-- a sort of twisted ladder shape known as double helix where the “side rails” consisted of a sugar phosphate backbone and the “rungs” were made of paired nucleic acid bases (represented by A, T, G, C). The structure suggested that the order of the bases formed a code representing the order in which amino acids should be joined to produce different kinds of proteins.
But what was the code? What order of bases made up the “code words” or "codons” DNA used to represent each of the 20 amino acids? Researchers hypothesized that each codon for amino acid would be three bases long. If it was only two bases long, that would allow for only 16 different combinations of the four bases (4^2 = 16). If each codon was three bases however, that would result in 64 possible codons (4^3 =64), plenty of codons to represent each of the 20 amino acids separately.
With this knowledge, Dr. Nirenberg and his colleagues set about trying to figure out which three-base combinations represented each amino acid. It was known at the time that DNA is “transcribed” into a template RNA that interacts with ribosomes in the cell to produce proteins. Because RNA, not DNA, is what the cell reads directly to make proteins, Dr. Nirenberg reasoned that he could use a man-made stand-in for RNA that had a repeating known sequence (the same codon over and over) to produce proteins consisting of only one amino acid.
These stand-ins were known as “oligonucleotides” (see object 2001.0023.02). Using a cell-free system (one that has all the necessary parts for protein synthesis in a test tube rather than in a cell) Dr. Nirenberg introduced the oligonucleotides, consisting only of a single base, uracil, represented by U, over and over. This meant the only codon that could be read by the system was UUU or “poly-U.”
He then fed the system a supply of all 20 amino acids, one of which was radioactively labeled. Twenty different experiments were done, with only a single kind of amino acid radioactively labeled per experiment. Only when the cell was supplied with the radioactively labeled amino acid, phenylalanine, did the specially made poly-U oligonucleotide produce a radioactive protein. Nirenberg had demonstrated that the codon “UUU” is the code word for phenylalanine, and in doing so, he had cracked the first word in the genetic code.
Within five years, between the work of Nirenberg and that of several scientists using similar methods, the c
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2001.0023.07
accession number
2001.0023
catalog number
2001.0023.07

Box of Glass

Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this assortment of glass objects in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this assortment of glass objects in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315357
catalog number
315357
accession number
13305

Pro/pette, Prototype

This object is a prototype liquid-handling machine developed at Cetus Corporation in Emeryville, California, in the early 1980s. It was designed to facilitate bioactivity assays by automatically performing dilution series.
Description (Brief)
This object is a prototype liquid-handling machine developed at Cetus Corporation in Emeryville, California, in the early 1980s. It was designed to facilitate bioactivity assays by automatically performing dilution series. It has the ability to manipulate small volumes of liquid on a microtiter plate. The Pro/pette was later adapted to become part of the first PCR machine, “Mr. Cycle” (see object 1993.0166.01).
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1994.0031.01
catalog number
1994.0031.01
accession number
1994.0031

Sweet Potato Preserved in Plastic

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940
ID Number
AG.A.7593
accession number
198812
catalog number
A.7593

Diffraction Grating

Henry A. Rowland, a professor of physics at The Johns Hopkins University, designed an engine that produced diffraction gratings by ruling a large number of closely spaced lines on a metal surface.
Description
Henry A. Rowland, a professor of physics at The Johns Hopkins University, designed an engine that produced diffraction gratings by ruling a large number of closely spaced lines on a metal surface. The concave speculum metal mirrors for many of these gratings were ground and polished in John A. Brashear's shop in Pittsburgh. The mirrors were sent to Baltimore, where Theodore C. Schneider ruled them with Rowland's engine, and then returned to Pittsburgh for sale to scientists around the world.
This example was probably used by Peter Smith Michie, the Army Engineer who, in 1871, became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at the U.S. Military Academy. Michie was also the first American academic to recognize Rowland’s first important scientific paper. And it was he who, in 1875, suggested that Daniel Coit Gilman, recently named founding president of The Johns Hopkins University, consider hiring Rowland to teach physics at the new university.
The inscription on this example reads “Ruled by Schneider on Rowland's engine 14438 lines per inch Johns Hopkins Univ. Feb 1884 definition good. Ruling third class.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
maker
Rowland, Henry A.
ID Number
PH.315760
accession number
217544
catalog number
315760

Cylinder-type Electrostatic Machine

People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism.
Description (Brief)
People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
This incomplete unit shows the basic design of a typical 19th century cylinder machine, although the rubbing pad and collector are missing. Little is known of this machine’s background but it does demonstrate the international nature of scientific research. A label on the unit reads: “Swiss Section / Department III / Classe 300 / No. [104?] / Erziehungsdirection des Cantons / Bern.” A second label reads: “Exhibitor: The Board of Education of the Canton / of Bern” and the equivalent text in German and French. Stamped on the end of the base may be a reference to a maker: "G. Kupfer".
During the 1750s electrical researchers refined the design of electrostatic machines by replacing earlier spherical globes with a glass cylinder, a design used for many years. This change increased the surface area of the glass in contact with the rubbing pad and improved the efficiency of the generator.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
EM.312807
catalog number
312807
accession number
167187

Diffraction Grating

Charles A. Young, professor of astronomy at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), acquired this diffraction grating in 1877. The speculum metal plate measures 2⅞ inches square, with the grating measuring almost 12 inches square. It is marked "Aug.
Description
Charles A. Young, professor of astronomy at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), acquired this diffraction grating in 1877. The speculum metal plate measures 2⅞ inches square, with the grating measuring almost 12 inches square. It is marked "Aug. 24, 1877; 5,760 per inch; 11,280 spaces, D. C. Chapman; 175, 2 Ave. N. Y." Daniel C. Chapman was the mechanic who operated the ruling engine designed and built by Lewis M. Rutherfurd.
Ref: D. J. Warner, "Lewis M. Rutherfurd: Pioneer Astronomical Photographer and Spectroscopist," Technology and Culture 12 (1971): 190-216.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
maker
Rutherfurd, Lewis Morris
ID Number
PH.328884
accession number
277637
catalog number
328884

Intron A; Interferon Alfa-2B Recombinant, 25 million IU

Intron A is an injectible recombinant pharmaceutical used to treat hairy cell leukemia.Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur.
Description (Brief)
Intron A is an injectible recombinant pharmaceutical used to treat hairy cell leukemia.
Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur. The genes code for a desired product, and therefore the genetically modified host organisms can be grown and used as a kind of living factory to produce the product. In this case, genes coding for human white blood cell interferons are inserted into bacteria. Interferon is a substance that is naturally made by the body to fight infections and tumors. Bacteria produce the interferons, which are harvested and used as the active ingredient in Intron A.
Object consists of a cardboard box containing a second box, two glass bottles (one of the active pharmaceutical and one of the dilutent), and two product inserts.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1988
product expiration date
1988-07
maker
Schering Corporation
ID Number
1987.0781.06
catalog number
1987.0781.06
accession number
1987.0781

Gene Pulser Pulse Controller

This pulse controller is part of the Gene Pulser, one of the first commercial electroporators.
Description (Brief)
This pulse controller is part of the Gene Pulser, one of the first commercial electroporators. Manufactured by Bio-Rad, the Gene Pulser was on the market from 1986 to 1995.
The pulse controller unit is used with the pulse generator (object number 1998.0018.01) for electroporation of bacteria and fungi.
Electroporation is a technique used to get drugs, proteins, DNA, and other molecules into cells. The method works by delivering a controlled electric pulse to cells in a solution. The pulse causes cells to briefly open pores in their cell membrane and take in molecules around them. The process is particularly useful in the creation of transgenic organisms.
Sources:
Accession File
Gene Pulser Product Manuals
“Electroporation Makes Impact on DNA Delivery in Laboratory and Clinic.” Glaser, Vicki. Genetic Engineering News, September 15, 1996. pp. 14–15.
“Electroporation applications: Special needs and special systems.” Ostresh, Mitra. American Biotechnology Laboratory. January 1995. p. 18.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Bio-Rad Laboratories
ID Number
1998.0018.03
accession number
1998.0018
catalog number
1998.0018.03

Innoculating Turntable

This inoculating turntable consists of a circular platform that rotates on its base. A petri dish was placed on the turntable, which was spun by hand.
Description (Brief)
This inoculating turntable consists of a circular platform that rotates on its base. A petri dish was placed on the turntable, which was spun by hand. This allowed a laboratory technician to streak bacteria onto the dish in even concentric circles.
It was used in the laboratories at Genentech, a biotechnology company.
Source:
Fischer Scientific. “Fischer Scientific Inoculating Turntables.” http://www.fishersci.com/ecomm/servlet/fsproductdetail_10652_791058__-1_0
Location
Currently not on view
user
Genentech, Inc.
maker
Fisher Scientific Company
ID Number
2012.0198.53
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.53

Humulin N, NPH, human insulin (recombinant DNA origin) isophane suspension

Humulin is human insulin used for treating diabetes. Prior to its development, diabetics used insulin isolated from pig and cow pancreases.
Description (Brief)
Humulin is human insulin used for treating diabetes. Prior to its development, diabetics used insulin isolated from pig and cow pancreases. Developed by Genentech, the first American biotechnology company, Humulin was licensed to Eli Lilly and became the first marketable product created through recombinant DNA technology. Its licensing by the FDA in October 1982 also made it the first recombinant pharmaceutical approved for use in the United States.
Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur. The genes code for a desired product, and therefore the genetically modified host organisms can be grown and used as a kind of living factory to produce the product. In this case, genes coding for human insulin are inserted into bacteria. Bacteria produce insulin, which is harvested and used as the active ingredient in Humulin.
Humulin N is formulated to have a slower onset of action than regular insulin and a longer duration of activity (slightly less than 24 hours).
Object consists of a white cardboard box with black and red printing. Box contains two product inserts and one clear round glass bottle with an orange plastic cap and a white label. Bottle contains a pinkish substance suspended in a clear solution.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1987
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1987.0790.01
accession number
1987.0790
catalog number
1987.0790.01

Solar Spectrum

“PHOTOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE SOLAR SPECTRUM / MADE BY PROF. H. A. ROWLAND, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.” This is from the first series, and extends from 36.8 to 41.25 units.Henry A.
Description
“PHOTOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE SOLAR SPECTRUM / MADE BY PROF. H. A. ROWLAND, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.” This is from the first series, and extends from 36.8 to 41.25 units.
Henry A. Rowland, the first professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., produced a photographic map of the solar spectrum using concave diffraction gratings made with his own ruling engine. The first edition, published in 1886, covered the region from wave-length 3100 to 5790. The scale of these maps was much greater than the maps of Angstrom or Rutherfurd, and they showed many more spectral lines.
Ref: “Photograph of the Normal Solar Spectrum. Made by Professor H. A. Rowland,” Johns Hopkins University Circular 5 (1886).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
maker
Rowland, Henry A.
ID Number
PH.322957.02
accession number
249200
catalog number
322957.02

Hat/Collecting Bag

The blockbuster cancer drug Taxol first became available in 1992 and has been used in the treatment for ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, as well as for Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Description (Brief)
The blockbuster cancer drug Taxol first became available in 1992 and has been used in the treatment for ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, as well as for Kaposi’s sarcoma. Its active ingredient was discovered through a joint research project between the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which screened plant materials for their possible use as cancer drugs. In 1962 project researchers found that the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, contains an anti-cancer chemical. The process to isolate the chemical, however, required trees to be stripped of their bark and consequently die, a fact concerned both environmentalists and drug manufacturers.
Environmentalists worried that large-scale harvesting of the trees would damage the natural habitat through clear-cutting and massive harvest of the slow-growing Pacific yews. The drug’s manufacturers realized that the current supply of natural Pacific yew was far from large enough to provide a sustainable source of bark for the continued production of Taxol over time. Slow growth and maturation rates of the yew made replacing natural sources through cultivation an untenable solution.
For to these reasons, alternate sources of Taxol were investigated. Some scientists worked in the lab, trying to make the drug from scratch. Others, like microbiologist Gary Strobel, turned to the field, hoping to find a new natural source of the drug. His wife made this hat/collecting bag for him to take along on trips to the Himalayas when studying Taxus wallachiana, the Himalayan yew. The object can be worn as a hat and then removed to function as a carrying bag for field samples. Strobel did succeed in finding several natural alternate sources, all of them fungi that grew within yew and produced their own Taxol. He suggested growing these fungi in the lab and harvesting the Taxol they produced.
In the end, however, a sustainable source of Taxol came from a substance found in the needles of the European yew, Taxus baccata, which could be transformed into Taxol using a chemical reaction. Because needles could be harvested without killing the tree, this semi-synthetic way of making Taxol replaced bark as the commercial source of the drug. Later this process was replaced by simply growing the plant’s cells in the lab in large quantities and harvesting the Taxol they produced.
Sources:
Accession File
“Success Story: Taxol (NSC125973).” National Cancer Institute. Accessed online. http://dtp.nci.nih.gov/timeline/flash/success_stories/S2_Taxol.htm
“Biologist Gets Under the Skin of Plants—And Peers.” Richard Stone. Science. Vol. 296 No. 5573. 31 May 2002. p.1597.
Taxol Product Insert
“2004 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award: Development of a Green Synthesis for Taxol Manufacture via Plant cell Fermentation and Extraction.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. http://www2.epa.gov/green-chemistry/2004-greener-synthetic-pathways-award
Location
Currently not on view
date used
1990s
ID Number
1997.0356.01
accession number
1997.0356
catalog number
1997.0356.01

Chart of the Winds

This hand-colored engraving depicts the compass rose with the names of the winds in several languages (Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French and German). The figures in the corners represent the seasons.
Description
This hand-colored engraving depicts the compass rose with the names of the winds in several languages (Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French and German). The figures in the corners represent the seasons. The banner at top reads: “TABULA ANEMOGRAPHICA seu PYXIS NAUTICA, vulgo COMPASS. CHARTE / Ventorum Noia septem linguis græca seil latina, italic, hispanica, gallica, hollandiea et germanica repræsentantio / succinate elaborate / À TOB. CONRAD LOTTERO, CHALCOGRAPHO ET GEOGRAPHO AUGUSTANO” as well as “Cu. Gr. et Pr.S.R.I. / part Rheni, Svev et Jur.” and “Vicariatg. in / Franconici.”
Tobias Conrad Lotter (1717-1777) was a cartographer and engraver in Augsburg who worked with Mattheus Seutter, married Seutter's daughter Euphrosina, and succeeded to part of the business after Seutter’s death in 1757.
This print might have been sold separately or bound in an atlas. It is, for instance, plate #2 in the Atlas Geographique (Nuremberg, 1778).
Ref: Michael Ritter, “Seutter, Probst and Lotter: An Eighteenth-Century Map Publishing House in Germany,” Imago Mundi 53 (2001): 130-135.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PH.329192
catalog number
329192
accession number
280072

Intron A; Interferon Alfa-2B Recombinant, 5 million IU

Intron A is an injectible recombinant pharmaceutical used to treat hairy cell leukemia.Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur.
Description (Brief)
Intron A is an injectible recombinant pharmaceutical used to treat hairy cell leukemia.
Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur. The genes code for a desired product, and therefore the genetically modified host organisms can be grown and used as a kind of living factory to produce the product. In this case, genes coding for human white blood cell interferons are inserted into bacteria. Interferon is a substance that is naturally made by the body to fight infections and tumors. Bacteria produce the interferons, which are harvested and used as the active ingredient in Intron A.
Object consists of a cardboard box containing a second box, two glass bottles (one of the active pharmaceutical and one of the dilutent), and two product inserts.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1988
product expiration date
1988-03
maker
Schering Corporation
ID Number
1987.0781.01
accession number
1987.0781
catalog number
1987.0781.01

Fresnel Lighthouse Lens

In the early nineteenth century, lighthouses in the United States were considered inferior to those in France and England.
Description
In the early nineteenth century, lighthouses in the United States were considered inferior to those in France and England. American mariners complained about the quality of the light emanating from local lighthouse towers, arguing that European lighthouses were more effective at shining bright beams of light over long distances. While American lighthouses relied on lamps and mirrors to direct mariners, European lighthouses were equipped with compact lenses that could shine for miles.
In 1822, French scientist Augustin-Jean Fresnel was studying optics and light waves. He discovered that by arranging a series of lenses and prisms into the shape of a beehive, the strength of lighthouse beams could be improved. His lens—known as the Fresnel lens—diffused light into beams that could be visible for miles. Fresnel designed his lenses in several different sizes, or orders. The first order lens, meant for use in coastal lighthouses, was the largest and the strongest lens. The sixth order lens was the smallest, designed for use in small harbors and ports.
By the 1860s, all of the lighthouses in the United States were fitted with Fresnel lenses. This lens came from a lighthouse on Bolivar Point, near Galveston, Texas. Galveston was the largest and busiest port in nineteenth-century Texas. Having a lighthouse here was imperative – the mouth of the bay provided entry to Houston and Texas City, as well as inland waterways. The Bolivar Point Light Station had second and third order Fresnel lenses over the years; this third order lens was installed in 1907. Its light could be seen from 17 miles away.
On 16-17 August 1915, a severe hurricane hit Galveston. As the storm grew worse, fifty to sixty people took refuge in the Bolivar Point Light Station. Around 9:15 PM, the light’s turning mechanism broke, forcing assistant lighthouse keeper J.B. Brooks to turn the Fresnel lens by hand. By 10 PM, the vibrations from the hurricane were so violent that Brooks began to worry the lens might shatter. He ceased turning the lens, trimmed the lamp wicks and worked to maintain a steady light through the night. The next morning, Brooks left the lighthouse to find Bolivar Point nearly swept away by the water.
Bolivar Point Light Station used this Fresnel lens until 1933. It was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the National Park Service.
date made
1822
late 1800s
all United States lighthouses outfitted with Fresnel lenses
1860s
lens used during a severe hurricane at Bolivar Point
1917-08-16 - 1917-08-17
donated to Smithsonian
1933
inventor
Fresnel, Augustin Jean
ID Number
TR.335567
catalog number
335567
accession number
1977.0626

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