A reproduction of a circa 17th-century alembic
with an “ostrich”-necked cucubert, clay luting, various
receiving flasks, charcoal furnace, bellows, tongs, and poker
The 45th issue of Museum Notes gives a brief history of the oldest known distillation apparatus as illustrated by various reproductions found in the Oesper Collections.
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Closeup of part of the Ch scale for the circa 1960 Hemmi 257 chemical slide rule.
Issue 44 gives a glimpse of two classic chemical slide rules found in the Oesper Collections, one dating from 1814 and the other from 1960.
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A circa 1930 American-made “Comptometer”
hand-cranked mechanical calculator.
Issue 43 gives a brief overview of some of the desktop and hand-held calculators used by chemists over the years and currently on display in the hallway outside of the Oesper Collections in Rieveschl Hall.
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The circa 1920 Zeiss butter refractometer recently acquired by the Oesper Collections.
Issue 42 describes a new addition to the museum’s refractometer collection – a circa 1920 Zeiss butter refractometer – and its historical importance as a means for rapidly differentiating between pure butter and margarine.
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The Varian E-4 EPR instrument as it appeared while still in use in Dr. Bobst’s laboratory.
Issue 41 describes a new addition to the instrument collection on the mezzanine of the chemistry-biology library. Dating from the early 1970s, this desktop Varian E-4 Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectrometer was donated by Dr. Albert Bobst of the UC Chemistry Department.
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Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) posing with his apparatus for combustion analysis.
Issue 40 outlines the history and importance of the chemical technique known as combustion analysis and highlights a reproduction of Liebig’s famous 1831 instrument for this purpose made by the late Dr. Melvyn Usselman of the University of Western Ontario and donated to our museum collections in 2005.
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A recently acquired 19th-century Chinese steelyard or so-called “opium balance” with an 11” ivory beam and accompanying “teardrop” storage case
Issue 39 briefly outlines the history and principles underlying traditional single pan or “steelyard” balances and illustrates their evolution using examples from our museum collections.
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Our recently acquired bust of Epicurus
(341-270 BC)
Issue 38 describes a recently acquired bust of the Greek philosopher Epicurus and his importance to the history of atomism.
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The mysterious antique bottle of “sulfur iodide.”
Issue 37 explores the consequences of trying to determine the true contents of an antique bottle of so-called “sulfur iodide” recently donated to the museum.
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An overview of OSHA’s rating system for laboratory chemicals
Issue 36 provides a brief insight into the history of labeling chemical bottles.
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