Rupert's drops - Instrument's card

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Rupert's drops

Dating

June 1889

The Rupert's drops are obtained by dropping in water a drop of molten glass. The heat dissipation cools immediately the external surface of the glass (hardening). What is produced, rather complex for the internal stresses, is a subject vitally hard, but in a precarious equilibrium state. Each drop has the strange properties of not break even if its head is strongly beat with a hammer, but it becames instantly powder if its tail is broken. The cover of the box has been lost.

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Rupert's drops

Cataloghi	Nº	Voce
Inv. 2016	134	Rupert's drops Provisional numbering!
Inv. 1870	574	Lagrime bataviche

Section

Mechanics

Window

Conditions

Incomplete

Working X

Intact

Large	10.0 cm (3.9 in)
Width	7.0 cm (2.8 in)
Height	6.0 cm (2.4 in)

Materials

wood, glass, cotton

Sources

Battelli A. - Cardani C., Trattato di fisica sperimentale ad uso delle università, Francesco Vallardi, Milano, 1922, Vol. 1, pag. 344, fig. 205
Clerc A., Fisica popolare, Edoardo Sonzogno, Milano, 1885, pag. 44, fig. 26
Daguin P. A., Cours de physique élémentaire avec les applications a la météorologie , E. Privat, Toulouse, 1863, pag. 165, fig. 191
Giordano G., Trattato elementare di fisica sperimentale e di fisica terrestre, Stabilimento tipografico di Federico Vitale, Napoli, 1862, Vol. 1, pag. 107, fig. 63
Milani G., Corso elementare di fisica e meteorologia, Editori della biblioteca utile, Milano, 1869, Vol. 2, pag. 113, fig. 64
Murani O., Trattato elementare di fisica compilato ad uso dei licei e degli istituti tecnici, Heopli, Milano, 1906, Vol. 1, pag. 230, fig. 148
Nollet J.A., Lezioni di fisica sperimentale, Giambattista Pasquali, Venezia, 1762, Vol. 4, pag. 332, Tav. XIV/8, fig. 32
Resti E., Catalogo generale di apparecchi per l'insegnamento della fisica, Ditta Emilio Resti di Franco Brambilla, Pubblicazi, Milano, 1930, pag. 21, fig. 94

The additional indications which integrate the items of the conservation's state have the following meaning: (?) = maybe complete; M = maintenance; P = partial; R = restored; D = used for teaching; NC = not checked; X = impossible to verify.

In order to avoid that instruments' cards without the english description text of the device be directly selected, I added a special filter with which only the complete cards are shown in the menu. Anyhow all the partial english instruments' cards (with instrument's dating, dimensions, state of conservation...) can always be seen even if they haven't the english description text. To read this uncomplete cards is sufficient to click, for example, on an instrument's picture or on the word "View" of the table column called "Card" every time they appear in the other pages of this database.