Heliostat

Title

Heliostat

Subject

Optics

Description

The heliostat takes light from the sun as it tracks across the sky, and redirects it in a fixed direction. To accomplish this, the light is reflected from a mirror that reproduces the motion of the sun, except at twice the rate. Although he did not invent the heliostat, the Dutch physicist William Jacob s'Gravesande gave it first prominence through mention in his 1742 textbook by. He coined the word from the Greek words for “sun” and “stationary.” Pictured is a Silbermann-type heliostat made by instrument manufacturer Duboscq.

Source

Property of the W&L Physics & Engineering Department

Files

bladder glass and heliostat 005.JPG
Date Added
November 14, 2011
Tags
Citation
“Heliostat,” Antique Scientific Instruments at Washington and Lee University, accessed March 29, 2024, https://physicsapparatus.omeka.net/items/show/16.