Greifswald 2024 – scientific programme

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GP: Fachverband Geschichte der Physik

GP 6: Crossing Disciplinary and Institutional Boundaries

GP 6.3: Talk

Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 12:00–12:30, ELP 3: HS 2.33

Developing an understanding of the impact of the first stereoscope on the model of Wheatstone — •Andreas Junk — Europa-Universität Flensburg

The design of the stereoscope on the model of Charles Wheatstone was introduced to the scientific community by an 1838 article in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. The apparatus is canonised today as the first of its kind to demonstrate, that two two-dimensional images or drawings are enough to evoke a spatial impression in an observer. In my paper I will present our experiences in the replication of the apparatus as on display at the King's College London and experiences from our reenactment process. While the stereoscopic effect mentioned above could be reproduced with our replica, the use of Wheatstone's drawings from the 1838 article generated more questions about the contemporary status of research on the physiology of vision and the demands on the images to be used with the instrument.

Keywords: experimental history of science; replication method; Wheatstone; stereoscopic vision; stereoscope