Object Details
- Description
- A chronoscope is a sophisticated clock that measures minute intervals of time. This one is of the form designed by Matthäus Hipp, a German clockmaker who settled in Switzerland during the political turmoil of 1848. The “Peyer, Favarger et Cie. / Neuchatel, Suisse / N. 13482” inscription on the dial refers to the name of the firm following Hipp’s retirement in 1889.
- Wilhelm Wundt, an influential professor at the University of Leipzig, recommended the use of Hipp chronoscopes for psychological and physiological experiments in his textbook, Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie (1874). As American academics began following Wundt’s work, chronoscopes were found on campuses across the country. This one comes from Cornell University, home of one of the largest and most productive American graduate programs in the field.
- Ref: Thomas Schraven, “The Hipp Chronoscope,” http://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/documents/schraven_art13.pdf
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- used at
- Cornell University
- maker
- Peyer, Favarger et Cie
- Credit Line
- Cornell University Department of Psychology
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal, brass (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 21 in x 10 5/8 in x 9 in; 53.34 cm x 26.9875 cm x 22.86 cm
- overall: 53.5 cm x 27.3 cm x 21.8 cm; 21 1/16 in x 10 3/4 in x 8 9/16 in
- Object Name
- Chronoscope
- chronoscope
- Other Terms
- Chronoscope; Diagnostic Medicine
