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This air pump was made by George Adams for King George III in 1761. It is the centrepiece of the pneumatics apparatus commissioned by the king along with the mechanics apparatus. The arrangement of valves is copied from a pump made about 10 years earlier by John Smeaton, who later became famous as a civil engineer. The air pump can be used to remove air from a glass vessel to show the effects of a vacuum. Alternatively, it can be used to pump air into a container, such as the brass condenser shown, to show the effects of pressure higher than normal.
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Details
- Category:
- King George III
- Object Number:
- 1927-1624/1
- Materials:
- brass, glass, mahogany, metal (unknown), rosewood and steel (metal)
- credit:
- King's College, London
- copyright:
- Unlinked Name
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