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| The microscope sent from London by Jacob Castro Sarmento FTS, one of the masterpieces of the Cabinet collection |
The Old Cabinet of
Physics of the University
of Coimbra (also known as Physics Museum, part of the Museum of Science of the University) is located
at the city academic center at the Colégio de Jesus, one of the oldest
Jesuit colleges in the world (it was founded in 1542). The building has been adapted by the Marquis of Pombal, who expelled the Jesuits, ca. 1772 to
serve the purpose of transmitting Natural Philosophy, in particular Newtonian
science. At that time with the University Reform the Faculties of Philosophy and
Mathematics were created. The Cabinet houses an
unrivalled collection of scientific and didactic instruments from the 18th and
19th centuries. This heritage consists exclusively of instruments used in the
Physics Cabinet of the University
of Coimbra since its very
origin in 1772. It is today one of the most complete Cabinets for the
experimental study of Physics which is on public display. Thanks to its unique
characteristics, this collection of instruments is among the most notable and
rare in the world. The instruments from the 18th century are considered by
experts true art pieces, having been shown in Brussels
(Europalia exhibition), Lisbon (Gulbenkian
Foundation) and S. Paulo, Brazil. The designers
and constructors are among the best in the world, in particular owners and artists
of London
workshops (George Adams, Benjamin
Martin, John Dollond, Edward Nairne, Edmond Culpeper, etc.). The book of the Dutch Musschenbroek Introductio ad philosophiam naturalem
had been the guide for selecting and constructing the instruments that equipped
the Cabinet. In its turn, the instruments
from the 19th century,
in turn, are well representative of the evolution of Experimental Physics along
that century (some of the constructors were Breguet, Bianchi, Koenig, Ruhmkorff, Ernecke,
Muller-Unkel, Geissler, Siemens & Halske, etc.). The
collection is well representative of the evolution of experimental physics in
the 18th and 19th centuries and is certainly worth a
visit by anyone interested in science. A lecture hall from the 18th century may also be visited. Nearby
there is the Laboratorio Chimico, Chemical
Laboratory, from the same period, which is probably the first building all over
the world which was constructed for Chemistry studies.
Some
of the instruments of the rich collection are publicly exhibited in two large
rooms, which keep the original atmosphere of the Physics Cabinet, even with the
original shelves, table and chairs. Indeed, One of the rooms is a true recreation
of a Physics Cabinet of the second half of 18th century, where a professor of
Physics Giovanni Dalla Bella (1730-1823) was teaching (he was called by the Marquis of Pombal
from Padova, Italy, where he teached, together with other science professors).
In the other room, instruments from the 18th century, mainly from the first
quarter, complete the exhibition. The thematic areas of the instruments are mainly Newtonian mechanics;
mechanics of the continua media, thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism.
A
virtual visit to the Cabinet may be done here:
Some
instruments are displayed here:
http://fisica.uc.pt/ax/mf/mf_all_vobjs.php~
See, e.g., http://fisica.uc.pt/ax/mf/mf_vobjs.php?qob=43
The University of Coimbra
is since June 2013 a
site of the UNESCO World Heritage (http://candidatura.uc.pt/pt/ ). Its Science Museum
(http://www.museudaciencia.org/ ), has received some international awards licke the
Micheletti Prize for the best new science and technology museum in Europe.
To know more see D. Martins and C.
Fiolhais, “A place of pilmigrage” in Europhysics
News (2003) vol. 34, n. 4, p. 154.
http://www.europhysicsnews.org/articles/epn/pdf/2003/04/Whole_issue.pdf
Carlos Fiolhais and Décio Martins
.jpg)
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