overall: 9 1/4 in x 5 5/8 in x 5 5/8 in; 23.495 cm x 14.2875 cm x 14.2875 cm
Object Name:
refigerated receiver
Description:
Joel Stebbins (1878-1966) was an astronomer who, while teaching at the University of Illinois, was led by his colleague, Jakob Kunz, to use a photocell to chart the fluctuating magnitudes of eclipsing binary stars. The experiment was indeed a success. In the words of Gerald Kron, an astronomer who would later work with Stebbins—and who gave this item is to the Smithsonian—Stebbins "furnished the continuity that lead to the permanent establishment of photoelectric photometry as one of the most important tools of modern astronomers."
This is a balsa wood box that holds a brass tank that can hold the Western Electric photocell (PH.328775) that Stebbins used for six color photometry in the 1940s. In use, the box would be packed with dry ice mixed with iso-propyl alcohol.
Ref: Gerald Kron, "Joel Stebbins 1878-1966," <i>Publications of Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i> 78 (1966) 62-65.