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Catalog Data

Object Name:
Atwood Machine
Place made:
United Kingdom: England, London
Description:
George Atwood, a mathematics tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge, described this type of instrument in 1784, explaining its use for verifying the laws of motion with constant acceleration. The Atwood machine soon became a common piece of classroom apparatus, suitable for teaching classical mechanics.
This example was probably one of the instruments bought by Frederick Hall, a Dartmouth graduate who became a tutor at Middlebury College in 1805, and then spent two years abroad, attending universities and scientific lectures, and purchasing apparatus for the school. It was probably made by Harris & Co. in London.
Ref: George Atwood, <i>A Treatise on the Rectilinear Motion and Rotation of Bodies, with a Description of Original Experiments Relative to the Subject</i> (Cambridge, 1784).
Location:
Currently not on view
Subject:
Science & Scientific Instruments  Search this
ID Number:
PH.315194
Catalog number:
315194
Accession number:
216217
See more items in:
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-b458-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1862242