Recorder, Strip Chart, Leeds and Northrup

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Manufacturer
Leeds & Northrup Co.
Summary
This is a reconstructed Leeds & Northrup Model G strip chart recorder representative of those used in the discovery of the background microwave radiation in 1965. While calibrating a very large microwave horn antenna at Holmdell, N.J., used for satellite communication, and trying to account for all sources of radiation, known and unknown, Bell Laboratories scientists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected what seemed to be persistent background noise that they could not account for. After ruling out all other possible sources, and advised by physicists from Princeton who had been looking for just this phenomenon, they identified this radiation due to a cosmic microwave background remnant predicted to exist by the Big Bang theory; essentially diluted and red shifted radiation from the extremely hot and violent origin of the universe. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of their discovery of this first confirmatory evidence of that theory. The outer case of this recorder has been refurbished to simulate the appearance of a working instrument. It was fabricated and donated to NASM by the Leeds+Northrup Division of Honeywell.
Credit Line
Reconstructed Leeds & Northrup Model G recorder donated by Honeywell I.A.C.
Inventory Number
A19970342000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
INSTRUMENTS-Scientific
Materials
Box - mixed metals including aluminum, steel, and cadmium-plated steel; glass; powder coating; paperboard-composite gaskets, elastomer
Contents - mixed metals, including electronic components; paper; plastic; elastomer; felt; ink
Dimensions
3-D: 46.8 × 32.4 × 50.8cm, 26.3kg (1 ft. 6 7/16 in. × 1 ft. 3/4 in. × 1 ft. 8 in., 58lb.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
National Air and Space Museum
Record ID
nasm_A19970342000
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9342fe24d-5d7d-4182-8c5a-3aeda076e3d7
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