General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

PLATINUM WIRES; HOUSED IN WOODEN CASE HAVING METAL HINGES & LINED WITH LEATHERETTE

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

66.1 cm

Width

16.0 cm

Height

2.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Physics

Category

Geophysics

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Worldwide

State/Province

Unknown

Period

PROBABLY OBTAINED FOR USE C.1920S-MID 1930S. THESE WIRES APPEAR UNUSED.

Canada

ONE OF A NUMBER OF ITEMS RECEIVED FROM GEODETIC SURVEY DIV., DOMINION OBSERVATORY, OTTAWA. THESE INSTRUMENTS & EQ. WERE USED BY DOMINION OBSERVATORY STAFF IN THE COURSE OF GRAVITY SURVEYS CONDUCTED BETWEEN C.1902-1970S.

Function

USED TO SUSPEND HORIZONTAL BAR & WEIGHTS IN TORSION BALANCE

Technical

EXAMPLE OF TORSION BALANCE WIRES. IN USING A TORSION BALANCE, WEIGHT IS DETERMINED BY THE TWISTING FORCE NECESSARY TO TURN A WIRE FROM WHICH IS SUSPENDED A LIGHT HORIZONTAL ROD. THIS ROD IN TURN CARRIES A WEIGHT AT EITHER END. THESE WIRES MUST BE EXTREMELY FINE, STRONG & YET FLEXIBLE: INVAR ANDPLATINUM WIRES WERE PREFERED

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

HANDWRITTEN NOTE TACKED TO CASE TOP READS: 'Vorsint (SP) [exclamation points]/ Platinim wir drahte [exclamation points]' [HANDWRITTING IS NOT ENTIRELY LEGIBLE]. PINS SECURING WIRES STAMPED: 'RECORD/ ORIGINAL'

Missing

NONE - WIRES ARE COMPLETE IN THEMSELVES. CASE ORIGINALLY CONTAINED 6 WIRES.

Finish

UNFINISHED WOODEN CASE, LINED WITH BLACK LEATHERETTE. WIRES ARE SILVER AND ARE SECURED BY YELLOW-METAL PINS.

Decoration

N/A