Physics
The School of Physics and Astronomy is one of the oldest departments in the University, having been established over 135 years ago. It holds a collection of approximately 600 scientific instruments relating to the history of physics research and teaching at the University of Leeds and its predecessor institutions during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The School has its roots in the Department of Mathematics and Experimental Physics which was one of the original constituents of the Yorkshire College of Science, established in 1874. Physics became a separate department in 1882-1883. Accordingly, the collection contains some items dating from the 19th century, but early 20th century equipment predominates.
Thanks to financial support from the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, over 100 of the most significant objects from the collection have been digitised and can be viewed through the Leeds University Digital Objects archive (LUDOS).
Areas that are well represented in this collection include a wide number of instruments used for reading electricity (such as voltmeters, ammeters, galvanometers and potentiometers), calculators including a calculating machine used by E.C.Stoner, and optical instruments.
Another significant area of the collection consists of X-ray equipment used by father and son team William H. and William L. Bragg for their Nobel Prize winning experimental work on X-ray crystallography. A series of events are taking place throughout 2013 as part of the Bragg Centenary celebrations.
Some of the instruments feature in publicly accessible displays within the School, including a Barr and Stroud rangefinder of the model adopted by the Royal Navy in 1892.
In addition to the School’s own collection the museum holds a number of physics teaching objects once used in schools across Yorkshire. These are part of the History of Education collection.
