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Article: Scientific Instruments
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
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SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS.
The early modern period saw the use of devices both to advance scientific research (such as the telescope and the microscope) and those of a more practical nature that embodied scientific knowledge (such as the astrolabe and the thermometer). Because scientific instruments are typically made by specialized craftsmen who produce improvements in design and effectiveness through technical means, their production may also be considered as a discrete technology.
Although in the Middle Ages there had been specialized craftsmen who made astrolabes and, later, clocks, the emergence of a specialized craft for the production of a line of scientific ...