overall: 46.5 cm x 87 cm x 190 cm; 18 5/16 in x 34 1/4 in x 74 13/16 in
base: 26 cm; 10 1/4 in
Object Name:
Spectrophotometer
Date made:
1936
Description:
Arthur C. Hardy, a physicist on the faculty of MIT, developed a recording spectrophotometer in the 1920s. The first commercial version, produced by General Electric, went into operation in early 1933. The form was costly and complex, and only about 100 examples were produced.
The National Bureau of Standards bought this instrument in 1936 for use in its color laboratory. The cost was $5324. When more efficient instruments became available, the Bureau gave it to the Catholic University of America; that school then gave it to the Smithsonian. The tag reads “RECORDING SPECTROPHOTOMETER Cat. No. 4980123 GE No. 713722 110 VOLTS D-C 110 VOLTS 60 CYCLES U.S. Pat. 1349252, 1377405, 1403475, 1459412, 1537708, 1558437, 1803198, 1803199, SCHENECTADY, N.Y., U.S.A.”
Ref: Arthur C. Hardy, “History of the Design of the Recording Spectrophotometer,” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America</i> 28 (1938): 360-.
J. L. Michaelson, “Construction of the General Electric Recording Spectrophotometer,” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America</i> 28 (1938): 365-.
Kasson S. Gibson and Harry J. Keegan, “Calibration and Operation of the General Electric Recording Spectrophotometer of the National Bureau of Standards,” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America</i> 28 (1938): 372-385.
Location:
Currently not on view
Credit Line:
Gift of the Catholic University of America, Department of Chemistry
