Object Details
- Description
- George Atwood, a mathematics tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge, described this type of instrument in 1784, explaining its use for verifying the laws of motion with constant acceleration. The Atwood machine soon became a common piece of classroom apparatus, suitable for teaching classical mechanics.
- This example was used at the U.S. Military Academy. The “Fortin et Herrmann Genre à Paris” inscription refers to Adolphe and Émile Fortin-Herrmann, brothers who, in 1831, took over the shop of their grandfather, Nicholas Fortin, a leading scientific instrument maker in Paris.
- Ref: George Atwood, A Treatise on the Rectilinear Motion and Rotation of Bodies, with a Description of Original Experiments Relative to the Subject (Cambridge, 1784).
- Daniel Grand, “Notice Nécrologique sur Adolphe et Émile Fortin-Herrmann,” Mémoires et Compte-rendus de la Société des Ingénieurs Civils de France (1908): 692-700.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- maker
- Fortin et Herrmann
- Credit Line
- U.S. Military Academy
- Measurements
- overall (object): 98 1/2 in x 25 3/4 in x 25 3/4 in; 250.19 cm x 65.405 cm x 65.405 cm
- overall (in case): 112 in x 35 in x 35 in; 284.48 cm x 88.9 cm x 88.9 cm
- cr.20: 112 in x 37 in x 36 in; 284.48 cm x 93.98 cm x 91.44 cm
- Object Name
- Atwood Machine
- Atwood machine
- atwood Machine
