Hans Jaffé (1919-1989)
Issue 35 recounts the recent discovery of a plaster model of the electron density of naphthalene discovered in the bottom drawer of one of the filing cabinets belonging to the late Hans Jaffé, who served as the UC chemistry department’s specialist in quantum mechanics from 1954-1989.
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Dr. William B. Jensen has added three new Museum Booklets to the series on the history of chemical apparatus. These new titles are:
Each booklet contains several photos and illustrations of the chemical instruments and people involved in these aspects of chemistry history. You can access all the booklets by clicking here.
A surviving set of “spirit bubbles:” for testing the
proof of alcoholic beverages.
Issue 34 explores some of the curious uses of glass balls to approximate the density of liquids.
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Our recently acquired Youden null-point pH meter. The Moir electrode system, minus one of the salt bridges, is to the left and a circa 1940 bottle of quinhydrone is displayed between it and the meter.
Issue 33 describes a recently acquired compact pH meter from the 1940s that uses a quinhydrone electrode, rather than either a hydrogen electrode or a standard glass electrode.
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The circa 1949 Craig cylindrical countercurrent
distribution apparatus recently donated to the Oesper Collections by Dr. Edward Bennett (Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection).
Issue 32 describes the recent acquisition of an even earlier version of a Craig countercurrent distribution apparatus than the version that was described in issue 3 of 2010.
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The restored 1913 Foster flashpoint apparatus.
Issue 31 of Museum Notes recounts some of the puzzles that have confronted the museum curator when it comes to identifying the nature and use of some of the items that are donated to the museum.
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Front view of the Siemens IA Elmiskop in its
original location at UC Environmental Health and Safety.
Issue 30 of Museum Notes highlights the recently acquired, circa 1964, Siemens Elmiskop 1A Microscope now on display on the upper mezzanine of the Chemistry-Biology Library in 503 Rieveschl.
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Typical modern-day fleakers with their patented caps.
The 29th issue of Museum Notes highlights a recent innovation in laboratory glassware known as the “fleaker” and traces its historical antecedents to a late 19th-century innovation known as the “beaker flask.”
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A brass hydrometer jar with handle and thermometer and two metal hydrometers probably designed to monitor the fermentation of beer.
The 28th issue of Museum Notes highlights yet another scientific instrument produced by the 19th-century Cincinnati inventor Henry Twitchell (1816-1875).
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A circa 1928 Bock-Benedict colorimeter
The 27th issue of Museum Notes tells the story of a UC graduate who, inspired by his undergraduate chemistry teacher, went on to become a nationally prominent physiological chemist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.