Replica of Torricelli's first barometer, 1643.

Made:
1643 in Italy
designer:
Evangelista Torricelli
Replica, Torricelli's first closed cistern barometer, Rome

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Replica, Torricelli's first closed cistern barometer, Rome
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Replica, Torricelli's first closed cistern barometer, Rome, Italy, 1643

Replica. The Italian mathematician, Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647), was the first person to create a sustained vacuum and to discover the principle of the barometer. He worked as Galileo's assistant just before Galileo's death in 1641. In 1643, Torricelli experimented with vacuums to demonstrate that atmospheric pressure determines the height to which a fluid will rise in a tube when inverted over the same liquid. This concept led to the development of the barometer. This barometer is a replica of the four foot tube barometer that Torricelli used in this experiment.

Details

Category:
Meteorology
Object Number:
1930-638
Materials:
wood (unidentified), glass, brass (copper, zinc alloy), mercury and felt
Measurements:
overall: 1080 mm x 95 mm x 125 mm, 1.8kg
type:
barometer and replica
credit:
Cipriani, G.