2005/07/22 science_museum_20050722 Photographs documenting my visit to the Science Museum in London on July 22, 2005.
Due to the recent terrorist attack, much of the Tube network was closed. I therefore walked to the museum from Paddington station, via Hyde Park. hyde_park North of the Serpentine, looking southwards. (I think. My sense of direction isn't the greatest). A similar angle to the previous shot, only zoomed in. People on the opposite bank are clearly visible. Taken while standing on the bridge across the Serpentine. Shame about the overcast sky. This monument is located a little way from the Alexandra Gate at the south of the park. I took the picture while standing close to the gate, using the zoom.
This was the first exhibition in the museum. energy_hall A wide shot of the multi-level hall. The ground floor held examples of various steam engines; the upped gallery had interactive displays about energy usage and conservation. The thin silver object suspended from the ceiling is an enormous ring, seen edge-on. The gift shop is visible in the background. A high-pressure steam engine, robustly constructed from cast iron. They don't make 'em like this any more. Suspended high up in the Energy Hall, this ring has an LED-type display on the inside edge, displaying various messages and visual effects triggered by the exhibits in the gallery.

(No, I didn't touch it!).]]>

The main purpose of my visit was to see the Victorian calculating maxhines designed by Charles Babbage. They were located in the Computing exhibition, along with other items of interest. computing The inconvenience of flash glare didn't put me off taking far too many photos. Precisely-machined brass components. Whoa, careful with those reflections. I had to lie on the floor to take this one; I like shots from odd angles. Loads of reflection on the glass, but not a bad picture. A second replica being constructed by the museum. Babbage abandoned the Difference Engine in order to concentrate on the more ambition Analytical Engine, his plan for a mechanical, general-purpose programmable computer. It was never completed, although partial prototypes like this one were built. Examples of the punched cards on which Analytical Engine programs would have been entered. The first minicomputer. Not very "mini" by modern standards, but back in 1965, it was a revolution in compact computers. It operated on bytes of 12 bits in length, having been built before the 8-bit byte became standardized. It had 4096 bytes of memory, was clocked at 1MHz, and consumed 780W of power. A lattice of tiny ceramic rings storing data magnetically, used in computers such as the PDP-8. Core memory's legacy lives on in computing terms such as "core dump". The first pocket calculator. Gotta love Sinclair kit from any era.
This gallery held exhibits from the Eighteenth Century to the present day, illustrating the development of modern industrial society. making_the_modern_world The final version of this clock is intended to keep time for 10,000 years, and will be of immense proportions, housed in a chamber carved out of a cliff in Nevada. Lying-on-the-floor shot of the Clock of the Long Now prototype. Bad photo; lighting was really weird in that part of the museum. I wanted to get a low shot, but due to the position of the exhibit, I'd have had to lie in the walkway and get in everyone's way. Yes, there was a Difference Engine exhibit in this gallery, too. This one is Babbage's incomplete prototype. I'm such a fanboy. Looks more like an item of furniture...
Since this was my first outing with my digital camera, it seemed appropriate to visit the photography exhibition. photography The addition of lenses to cameras obscura was pioneered by an Englishman called William Fox Talbot in the 1830s. Talbot had been investigating photography while on his honeymoon. (You'd think he'd have had better things to do...) A nice selection of mid-19th Century cameras. Cameras like this produced negatives on treated glass plates. I didn't realize that the Victorians invented Viewmaster... These started appearing towards the end of the 19th Century. Colour photography was developed before colour film (with three separate layers of photosensitive silver halide) was invented. Early colour cameras used a lens to separate the red, green and blue components of light; the three components were then reflected onto individual glass plates.
I even bought a souvenir. It makes my tea taste all... sciency.