Glass prism with lugs, mounted at end of brass tube with threaded flange, unsigned, London, England, 1795-1805. Used by Sir William Herschel in experiments on thermal radiation in the solar spectrum. (See note)
Glass prism, mounted at end of brass tube, used by Sir William Herschel in experiments on thermal radiation in the solar spectrum. This may be the prism used by William Herschel when he accidentally discovered invisible radiation in 1800. Using the prism, he split sunlight into its different colours and measured their temperatures. He noticed that the temperature was highest beyond the red light, in a region now known as infrared.
Details
- Category:
- Optics
- Object Number:
- 1876-951
- Materials:
- copper (alloy), brass (copper, zinc alloy) and glass
- Measurements:
-
overall: 140 mm x 160 mm x 60 mm, 0.37kg
- credit:
- The Herschel Family Archive