General Information

Serial #

B 1015

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

.1 METALS, INCLUDING BRASS AND NICKEL; GLASS; WOODEN BASE/.2 SYNTHETIC

Dimensions

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

Length

15.3 cm

Width

15.1 cm

Height

23.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Physics

Category

Demonstration & teaching equipment

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Denver

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Colorado

City

Denver

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

THIS INSTRUMENT PROBABLY USED C. 1900 TO 1925, AND POSSIBLY LATER.

Canada

PART OF A COLLECTION OF PHYSICS LABORATORY AND CLASSROOM DEMONSTRATION APPARATUS FROM MCMASTER UNIVERSITY. THIS PIECE IS ASSOCIATED WITH HARRY THODE, A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR WHO WORKED ON CANADIAN NUCLEAR PROJECTS DURING AND FOLLOWING WW11. HE BECAME ONE OF CANADA'S LEADING NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS. (REF.1)

Function

TO DEMONSTRATE AND MEASURE THE RELATIVE RADIOACTIVITY OF A RADIUM OR SIMILAR SAMPLES.

Technical

AS AN ATOMIC PARTICLE PASSED THROUGH THE ELECTROSCOPE, IT WOULD CAUSE ATOMS TO BE STRIPPED OFF THE GOLD LEAVES SUSPENDED IN THE CHAMBER, RENDERING THEM SLIGHTLY CHARGED. THE GOLD LEAVES SEPARATED BY AN AMOUNT ROUGHLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE CHARGE THAT HAD BEEN BUILT UP. HUMIDITY PERMITTED THE CHARGE TO LEAK OFF THE LEAVES SO THE PRECISION WAS DECREASED. THIS EXAMPLE PROVIDES MORE SHIELDING AND CONTROL OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE GOLD LEAVES (REF. 1), AND OF THE SAMPLE. IN USE, THE RADIOACTIVITY OF A SUBSTANCE IS MEASURED BY THE RATE AT WHICH THE LEAF TRAVELS OVER THE SCALE DUE TO THE IONIZATION PRODUCED BY THE SUBSTANCE (REF.2).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

" B. 1015 " incised on sample chamber casing. Plate fixed to wooden base reads " THE DENVER FIRE CLAY CO./ SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS/ logo- DFC/ CHEMICALS, GLASSWARE/ DENVER SALT LAKE ".

Missing

UNKNOWN. PROBABLY MISSING SAMPLE DISHES/TRAYS FOR LOWER COMPARTMENT. From CA of 11/29/2001 by Matthew Bruce: No - appears complete

Finish

.1 SAMPLE CASING CHAMBER IS NICKEL PLATED. WOODEN BASE IS STAINED AND VARNISHED..2 CLEAR SYNTHETIC DISK

Decoration

N/A