A clear plastic container with pH-Fix sticks with 4 colours, which will indicate one on 14 pH levels after dipping the test stick in solution until the colour no longer changes. chemistry, laboratory, scientific instruments, indicator sticks, ph indicator test sticks

These bottles and reagents were used at the Ballarat School of Mines Chemistry Laboratroy, which was dismantled in 2016.15 x small reagent bottles; plastic bottle and straw. * Safranin Biological Stain * Crystal Violet * Immersion oil * Gram's Iodine for Microscopy * Malechite Green * Parafin Oil * Methylene Blue Redox Indicator chemistry, laboratory, scientific instruments, gentian violet, safranin biological stain, immersion oil, gram's iodine, malachite green

A variable scale ration planimeter, calibrated in imperial units and in metric units. Housed in a black case with hinged lid. Complete with calibration table inside the case.planimeter, scientific instruments

A Fortin style mercury barometer from well-known Australian instrument maker, A.L.Franklin. The column of mercury is supported by the pressure of air on the free surface of the mercury in the cistern at the bottom. Its level can be adjusted to a datum using the screw at the bottom and then the height of the column can be accurately read off using a vernier scale at the top. Attached to a backing timber board with a thermometer. Thermometer made by Townson and Mercer. Metal vertical hanging eyelet.A.L.Franklin, established 1919, scientific instrument makers, Brookvale, NSW; A.L Franklin Sydney No. 457; Townson and Mercer Distributors Pty Ltd throughout Aust and NZ.;weather station, soil science, science, student outside activities, measurements, air pressure, atmospheric pressure, air temperature

Brass and black enamelled microscope, circular stage with vernier reading. (Research required: possibly a polarising microscope, for special measurements, perhaps geololgical Probably a”petrological microscope”, from 1890s. See entry 3683 MICROSCOPE - COMPOUND on p MIS97 of MOLLAN, Charles “Irish National Inventory of Historic Scientific Instruments”On base: “J.Swift & Son, London”

Joly Meldometer The Joly meldometer was created to determine the melting point of minerals. W.E. Wilson, an astronomer and author, stated in 1900 that the Joly meldometer consisted of a ‘a strip of platinum on which minute fragments of any mineral can be placed, while any alteration in its length can be determined by means of a micrometer screw which touches a lever connected with one end of the strip. The strip can be heated by an electric current, and is calibrated by observing the micrometer readings corresponding to the temperatures at which some substances of known melting-points melt’i . One reason why the Joly meldometer was seen as a successful addition to science was the small amount of any substance that it required for testing. Only a minute sample was needed for the instrument to work and so a tiny part could be taken from a delicate item without destroying itii . The instrument was originally manufactured by the Irish company Yeates & Son of Dublin. The Yeates family business was established in the early 1790’s and is thought to have operated until approximately 1922iii . Their business slogan was recorded as ‘Instrument makers to the University’, a slogan which proudly exhibited their relationship with Trinity College, Dublin. The company was located directly opposite Trinity College, the place where the Joly meldometer was created. Working in such close proximity must have assisted this business relationship. The inventor of this meldometer was Irishman John Joly. Joly was born in 1857 at the Church of Ireland Rectory, Hollywood House. His education led him to Trinity College Dublin where, by 1891, he had obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree as well as a Doctorate of Science. The entirety of his working life appears to have taken place at Trinity College although he is known to have travelled in order to consult with other scientists such as the world renowned Sir Ernest Rutherford. The Joly meldometer was used for a variety of different purposes, with scientists often adapting the instrument to suit their own needs. For instance, the previously mentioned astronomer W.E. Wilson adapted the meldometer to assist him in measuring the radiation of the suniv . Joly used his device in an attempt to ascertain the age of the earth. In 1913, along with Sir Rutherford, Joly came to the conclusion that the earth was approximately 400 million years old. They did this by analysing the decay of radioactivity in minerals. According to our present knowledge of the earth this was a much more accurate date than the dates Joly had previously derived. He had first thought that the earth was 97 million years old due to the volume of sodium in the oceans. Joly’s second analysis of the topic had resulted in the age of 80 million years. This figure was based on the accumulation of sediment. Apart from designing his meldometer, Joly is also remembered for his work with colour photography. In 1894 Joly discovered a method for creating colour photographs from a single platev . He also studied the use of radiation as a treatment for cancer and persuaded the Royal Dublin Society to establish the Radium Institute to assist hospitals. In 1933 Joly passed away at the age of seventy-six. Jacqueline Eager Student Projects Placement, Cultural Collections 2005 iMollan, Charles, Irish National Inventory of Scientific Instruments, Samton Limited, 1995, p. 302. iiJoly, John, 'On the determination of the melting points of minerals, Part 1. Uses of the meldometer', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 2., 1891. iiiInstitute for Learning Technologies, "Stephan Mitchell Yeates' http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/bluetelephone/html/yeates.html, accessed on 04.10.2005 ivMollan, Charles, Irish National Inventory of Historic Scientific Instruments, op cit. vMollan, Charles, The Mind and the Hand: Instruments of Science 1685-1932, Samton Limited, Dublin, 1995, p. 34.The following from #2975 in UDE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN ENGINEERING list in the “Irish National Inventory of Historical Scientific Instruments” by Charles Mellon (P/C in file for Cat no 272. “....meldometer as an instrument ‘for the purpose of finding the melting-points of minerals, hence its name. As used by him (Joly), it consists of a strip of platinum,on which minute fragments of any mineral can be placed, while any alteration in its length can be determined by means of a micrometer screw which touches a lever connected with one end of the strip. The strip can be heated by an electric current, and is calibrated by observing the micrometer readings corresponding to the temperatures at which some substances of known melting-points melt’.” Ref. : J. Joly, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. 3rd series vol 2 (1891),38-64.