 Machine for experiments on centrifugal force  Machine illustrating the damping of oscillations in different liquids |
The apparatus which forms the mechanical collection can be divided into two categories: purely didactic instruments, and models of machines. The didactic instruments, the most numerous, were designed to visualize the fundamental laws of mechanics. The more spectacular the demonstration of a phenomenon was, the greater its success, as in the case of the big apparatus for elastic and inelastic impacts, or the one for experiments with centrifugal force. These devices were utilized for teaching classical physics up to the beginning of the twentieth century. The second category includes models of simple machines (the lever, the screw, the pulley, the gearwheel, etc.) and composite ones, such as the device for raising an obelisk exhibited in this room. Other devices on display were utilized to study the laws of impact, and the motion and trajectory of falling weights. |