Portable Aitken type dust counter, 1900-1908

Made:
1900-1908 in England and United Kingdom
designer:
John Aitken
Portable Aitken type dust counter in wood and leather case

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

Portable Aitken type dust counter in wood and leather case
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Portable Aitken type dust counter in wood and leather case, designed by Dr. John Aitken, unsigned, British, 1900-1908. The original bulky instrument was used at the Observatory on top of Ben Nevis in Scotland.

Contained in a case 'the size of a well-filled cigar case'. A piston action drew air into the test chamber, which was full of supersaturated air. The dust in the test sample formed nuclei for the water in the chamber to coalesce around, forming drops that could then be counted.

Details

Category:
Meteorology
Object Number:
1908-193
Materials:
brass (copper, zinc alloy), glass, wood (unidentified), leather, silk and velvet
Measurements:
overall (case closed): 38 mm x 140 mm x 75 mm, .29kg
type:
air sampler and case - container
credit:
Mr. J. Aitken.