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Curated category

Historical scientific instruments

  • A Philosopher Lecturing on the OrreryThe year 1766 marked the creation of a painting that replaced the sun with a single lamp. Joseph Wright of Derby placed this artificial light at the center…
  • Armillary sphereA brass framework of graduated rings stands at the center of an armillary sphere. This metal skeleton represents lines of celestial longitude and latitude.
  • OrreryA wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera yielded a bronze mechanism in 1901. This artifact dates between 205 and 87 BC.