Tuning Fork for Lissajous Apparatus

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Description:

With a Lissajous apparatus—devised by Jules Antoine Lissajous (1822-1880), a French mathematician—a beam of light is bounced off a mirror attached to a horizontal tuning fork, then off a second mirror attached to a vertical tuning fork, and then onto a wall. The resulting images are the graphs of complex harmonic motions known as Lissajous figures. This example came from the Smithsonian Institution Instrument Room. The "RK" inscription is that of Rudolph Koenig in Paris.

Maker: Rudolph Koenig

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: France: Île-de-France, Paris

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.314591.08Catalog Number: 314591.08Accession Number: 205890

Object Name: tuning fork

Measurements: overall: 17 3/8 in x 3 in x 1 3/8 in; 44.1325 cm x 7.62 cm x 3.4925 cm

Metadata Usage: CC0

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-aed6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1822843

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