Piezometer

Piezometer

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Description
Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851) was a Danish scientist best known for having discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields. He also designed an instrument for measuring the compressibility of liquids. That instrument was sometimes termed an Oersted apparatus. The term “piezometer” may have been coined by the American inventor and mechanical engineer, Jacob Perkins (1766-1849). There is no inscription on this example; and the registering apparatus has been lost.
Ref: Jacob Perkins, “On the Compressibility of Water,” American Journal of Science (May 1821): 347-352, and illus; from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
piezometer
Measurements
overall: 21 3/4 in x 6 1/4 in; 55.245 cm x 15.875 cm
overall: 21 7/8 in x 5 7/8 in; 55.5625 cm x 14.9225 cm
ID Number
PH.315648
catalog number
315648
accession number
217544
Credit Line
Gift of Department of Defense, U.S. Military Academy
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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