King George III's friction machine

Made:
1762 in London and Fleet Street
maker:
George Adams
Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in Friction machine, 1762

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Friction machine, 1762
King's College, London| Enquiries to Science Museum, London
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Friction machine made for King george III by George Adams in 1762, Fleet Street, London.

George Adams made the frictio machine for King George III in 1762, just a few years after he ascended the throne in 1760. Adams referred to this machine when he began his section on motion in his accompanying Course on Mechanics. The machine shows that friction is due to weight acting on the moving parts, not the area in contact with them. When the spoked wheel was spun, it would turn 'more than the space of a mile', according to Adams. Alternatively a watch spring could make the wheel oscillate. Friction was provided using the small brass lever and the number of oscillations with and without friction compared.

Details

Category:
King George III
Object Number:
1927-1116
Materials:
mahogany, brass, steel and paper (fibre product)
Measurements:
overall: 205 mm x 165 mm x 125 mm, 1.65 kg
type:
friction machines and demonstration equipment
credit:
King's College, London