Museo Galileo
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Virtual Museum
Section of Room XVII
 Quantitative Chemistry

In the second half of the 18th century chemists felt the need for greater precision in their experimentation. New, sophisticated scales with hitherto unimaginably small margins of error, favoured the introduction of higher quantitative standards. In addition, the chemists adapted to the needs of their research other gravimetric methods and instruments borrowed from physics, such as the use of aerometers to determine the specific weight of fluids. By using these instruments in combination with pyrometers, the French chemists became leaders in making models of the decimal metric system.

Objects
Balance

Balance

Inv. 565
Maker unknown, 19th cent.

Bottle

Bottle

Inv. 1875
Maker unknown, 18th cent.

Bottle

Bottle

Inv. 1834
Maker unknown, 18th cent.

Bottle

Bottle

Inv. 1876
Maker unknown, 18th cent.

Bottle

Bottle

Inv. 1712
Maker unknown, 18th cent.

Bottle

Bottle

Inv. 1834 bis
Maker unknown, 18th cent.

Hydrometer

Hydrometer

Inv. 2023
Barthélemy, Montpellier, 18th cent.

Precision balance

Precision balance

Inv. 1332
Maker unknown, 19th cent.

Precision balance

Precision balance

Inv. 997
Maker unknown, 19th cent.

Standard meter

Standard meter

Inv. 1362
Henri-Prudence Gambey, Paris, first half 19th cent.