Museo Galileo
italiano
previous
Virtual Museum
Spheres for testing the non-compressibility of fluids
    • Setting:
      Room VIII
    • Maker:
      unknown
    • Place:
      Florence
    • Date:
      mid-17th cent.
    • Materials:
      tin, copper
    • Dimensions:
      max. diameter 100 mm
    • Inventory:
      1266, 1267, 1268, 1269, 2644, 2645, 2646, 2647
    • Spheres for testing the non-compressibility of fluids (Inv. 1266-1269, 2644-2647)

These four metal spheres were used by the Cimento academicians to prove the impossibility of compressing liquids. Indeed, the volume of fluids cannot be reduced even under heavy pressure. To demonstrate this principle, the academicians filled the spheres with liquid and sealed them. The spheres were then struck violently with a mallet in order to compact them. This caused the liquid to start leaking—proof of the non-compressibility of liquids.