Museo Galileo
italiano
previous
Virtual Museum
Apparatus for angles of incidence and reflection
    • Setting:
      Room XIII
    • Maker:
      unknown
    • Date:
      second half 18th cent.
    • Materials:
      wood, brass, ivory
    • Dimensions:
      height 1260 mm, diameter 700 mm
    • Inventory:
      2738
    • Apparatus for angles of incidence and reflection (Inv. 2738)

A richly decorated wooden base supports a column carrying a circular table. Along the edges of the table are inserted 36 ivory sectors, each of 10°. A diaphragm with three circular holes with shutters slides on the edge. A metal mirror is set in a brass frame at the center. Projecting a beam of light through the diaphragm onto the mirror, we can observe that it is reflected by an angle equal to the angle of incidence.