GAS DISCHARGE TUBES AT THE MUSEON

My talk will discuss the topic of my master's thesis: the collection of gas discharge tubes at the Museon (science museum in The Hague, founded in 1904). Discharge tubes are an interesting research subject, because they played a major role in nineteenth century gas discharge research. This research lacked a theoretical framework; hence, experiments and instruments were very important. A large amount of tube types were developed. The tubes in the Museon are all types that stem from the nineteenth century. However, the tubes themselves date from the twentieth century. It are mainly educational instruments, and the Museon collected them not for their historical value, but as a means for education. To understand the collection, one needs to know both how the tubes were collected, and how they were used. My talk will address discharge tubes in general, and the research performed with them, but it will focus on the tubes present at the Museon. I'll discuss the development and use of the collection in the twentieth century, and shortly compare it with other Dutch tube collections. Furthermore, I will discuss some of the tubes - the highlights - in more detail.