Comprising a steam-driven reciprocating engine operating a hydraulic pump., J. Angelo Salmoiraghi (Italia), 1900.

Collection of Thermal Engineering

The collection includes approximately 200 optical-mechanical topographic and photogrammetric instruments, the oldest of which date back to the second half of the 19th century.

History

The Collection is housed in Building 9 of the University Campus on Viale delle Scienze and comprises a vast array of instruments and equipment of great historical and scientific value. These instruments have been used for teaching and research since the final decades of the 19th century, testifying to the evolution of technology and experimentation in the engineering field. The collection includes equipment dedicated to the study of environmental technical physics, with instruments used in thermodynamics, acoustics, and lighting, as well as numerous electrical components dating back to the late 19th century.
Among the most significant pieces is the Ulbricht sphere, displayed at the entrance to the section, used to measure the light emitted by light sources. All the instruments are currently being carefully cataloged and enhanced.

The Collection of Electrical Engineering Instruments has ancient origins: it originates from the instruments that belonged to the former Institutes of Electrical Engineering and Technical Physics of the Royal School of Application for Engineers, which was located on Via Maqueda, within the former Martorana Convent. The first courses in Technical Physics were held in those classrooms, followed by those in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Measurements, and Electrical Installations, which contributed to the education of the first generations of engineers and the birth of a scientific tradition that is still alive and recognizable in the collection today.

Gallery