The History of the Barometer

by Middleton, W. E. Knowles

• ISBN13: 9780801871542
• ISBN10: 0801871549
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-30
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

In the first complete history of the barometer, W. E. Knowles Middleton documents not only the history of the instrument--invented in the mid-seventeenth century--and its various permutations, but also the history of the scientific principles involved and the scientists who either helped or hindered progress. Illustrated with nearly 200 drawings, many of them reproductions of original diagrams, this book chronicles the experiments, controversies, and refinements that resulted in the instrument that has for two centuries been an essential part of any laboratory and, as Middleton concludes, "had an immediate effect on man's view of the world."

Author Biography

W. E. Knowles Middleton (1902--88) wrote 15 books and 75 to 100 scientific papers related to the science of weather instruments and meteorological optics as well as their history. His major contribution was the book Meteorological Instruments, first published in 1953. From 1929--46, he worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada, specializing in measurement and instrumentation. After retiring, he was a professor emeritus and honorary lecturer associated with the Department of History of Medicine and Science at the University of British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Preface
The Scientific Background	p. 1
The Prehistory of the Barometer	p. 3
The Torricellian Experiment	p. 19
The "Extraordinary Effervescence"	p. 33
Seventeenth-Century Experiments and Speculations	p. 55
The Mercury Barometer as an Instrument	p. 83
A General Survey	p. 85
The Expansion of the Scale	p. 87
The Search for Portability	p. 132
The Corrections to the Mercury Barometer	p. 172
The Improvement of Accuracy	p. 195
Barometers of High Accuracy	p. 261
Mercury Barographs and Related Apparatus	p. 285
The Mercury Barometer in North America	p. 338
Luminescence in the Barometer	p. 354
Barometers Other Than Mercury Barometers	p. 361
Other Liquid Barometers	p. 363
Air Barometers and Related Apparatus	p. 373
Dead-Weight and Elastic Barometers	p. 396
List of the More Important or Interesting Barometers Examined	p. 445
Index	p. 467
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