XLIII Scientific Instrument Symposium - SIC 2024

Session Chair: Sabina Luz (UNIRIO, Brazil)

Dé-instrumentaliser l’instrument scientifique: l’exemple d’un restituteur planimétrique radial au Musée de la civilisation
Auteur: Valérie Bouchard
Pour un musée de société comme le Musée de la civilisation, le collectionnement d’objets scientifiques ne va pas toujours de soi, ces objets étant souvent associés à des institutions dont la mission est d’emblée scientifique. Pourtant, les innovations et développements technologiques et scientifiques ne surviennent pas en vase clos, mais sont au contraire étroitement liés à des préoccupations, à des intérêts ou à des besoins sociaux.

C’est dans cette perspective et dans la posture pratique qu’est celle d’une conservatrice de musée que cette communication propose de réinterroger l’instrument scientifique, à partir de l’exemple d’un restituteur planimétrique radial associé à la compagnie Donohue et récemment acquis par le Musée de la civilisation. Cette communication sera l’occasion d’explorer des pistes de mise en valeur d’un tel instrument, en allant au-delà de son cadre strictement fonctionnel, pour aborder plutôt ses dimensions historiques et sociales et les échos qu’il peut avoir pour les publics du Musée aujourd’hui. De cette approche émergera non seulement le caractère polysémique de cet instrument, mais également des questionnements plus larges sur les frontières de l’objet scientifique. Ces réflexions permettront ainsi d’envisager la manière dont le musée de société peut contribuer à jeter un nouvel éclairage sur la conservation et la diffusion du patrimoine scientifique.

Upgrading Scientific Instruments Over Time Towards a Culture of Precision: Case studies from Coimbra University
Author: Pedro Júlio Enrech Casaleiro
Co-Author: Fábio Monteiro
The Coimbra Observatory houses an impressive collection of scientific instruments, ranging from astronomy and geodesy from the Royal Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra since 1772, to meteorology, magnetism and seismology from the Geophysical Institute since 1864. This collection reflects the scientific endeavours throughout the history of the institutions, intertwined with the progress of science, dependent on its key figures (scientists, professors, staff), as well as the fluctuations of university administration, national governance and global influence. Both institutions were founded during periods of scientific vitality that paved the way for new paths in science, culminating in the current collections.

The research began with a comprehensive analysis of the collections, identifying trends in acquisitions over time, to serve the research and teaching endeavours of the University of Coimbra, with the aim of increasing the accuracy and precision of the data. This is followed by a more detailed examination of case studies of astronomical position and time instruments. It identifies the criteria and acquisition framework of these instruments, taking into account institutional dynamics, personnel and the use of new instruments. This project is based on the study of objects through documentary research in the university archives and libraries.

Acknowledgements: The CQC–IMS is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), through the projects UI0313B/QUI/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/00313/2020), UI0313P/QUI/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/00313/2020), and LA/P/0056/2020.

The ‘Kosmic Clock’ – A Rare and Valuable Artifact
Author: Ray Springer
Introduction
The traditional definition of local time
The Industrial Revolution and the rise in railroad travel in North America - issues
A tipping point in 1865

Examples of proposed time framework solutions
Sandford Fleming’s 24 hour day and ‘Cosmic Time’
The International Meridian Conference (IMC) of 1884 - a prime meridian

The ‘Kosmic’ Clock
Post IMC, 3 clock patents were obtained by inventor Martin V. B. Ethridge
6 ‘Kosmic’ Clocks manufactured by the E. Howard Clock Co., Boston
‘Kosmic’ features: patented 24 hour Ethridge dial, spindles and an additional hand
One ‘Kosmic’ sent to the Royal Canadian Institute (for Science) by Mr. E. Waite

Outcomes
Sandford Fleming supported the IMC proposal
Fleming did not endorse the ‘Kosmic’ however …

Conclusion
The ‘Kosmic’ Clock is a rare and valuable artifact. The context of its creation helps to better understand the journey towards a new model for local time and the implementation of a Prime Meridian and international time zones

Restoration
The ‘Kosmic’ Clock was restored by Dan Hudon, Master Clock Restorer of the Ottawa Valley Watch and Clock Club and his assistant Andrea Gilpin
Ray Springer
OVWCC Treasurer 2012-2022

A Torsion Balance in the Faculty of Physics of the University of Barcelona
Author: Júlia Garcia de la Torre
FFUB-0291 is one of the hundreds of instruments in the collection of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Barcelona. This torsion balance, built by french manufacturer Pixii, arrived in the University of Barcelona in 1847 within the frame of 'Pla Pidal', an education reform approved in 1845.  

Its form and history have been shaped by its scientific and historical contexts: from its role as an agent of modernisation of the Spanish educational system to its function within lectures of establishing experimentation as the only path to true knowledge. By the creation of its biography and the replication of its use, I have studied the possible links between the apparatus and its historical and scientific contexts, as well as contributed to the controversy surrounding Coulomb's experiment.