Bathometer

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A bathometer (also bathymeter) is an instrument for measuring water depth.[1][2] It was previously used mainly in oceanographical studies, but is rarely employed nowadays. The term originates from Greek βαθύς (bathys), "deep" and μέτρον (métron), "measure".

History

The earliest idea for a bathometer is due to Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) who sunk a hollow sphere attached to some ballast with a hook. When the ball reached the bottom it detached from the ballast and resurfaced. The depth was determined (rather inaccurately) by the time it took to surface.[3] Jacob Perkins (1766–1849) proposed a bathometer based on the compressibility of water.[4] In this instrument the movement of a piston compressing a body of water enclosed in its cylinder is dependent on the pressure of the water outside the cylinder, and hence its depth. The amount the piston moved can be measured when it is returned to the surface.[5]

A bathometer that did not need to be submerged was invented in 1876 by

submarine telegraph cables were being laid around the world. Accurate knowledge of the depth of the ocean bed was important for this work. Previously, depth was determined by taking soundings with a lead line, a time-consuming and difficult method.[8]

See also

  • Bathymetry – Study of underwater depth of lake or ocean floors
  • Depth sounding – Measuring the depths of a body of water
  • Echo sounding – Measuring the depth of water by transmitting sound waves into water and timing the return

Sources

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster
  2. ^ Water Words Dictionary
  3. ^ Umberto Eco, Giovanni Battista Zorzoli, , A Pictorial history of inventions: from plough to Polaris, p. 79, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1962.
  4. ^ Boston Monthly Magazine, vol. 1, iss. 1, p. 481.
  5. ^ Thomas Stewart Traill, "Experiments on the specific gravity of sea water drawn in different latitudes and from various depths in the Atlantic", The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. 4, part 1, iss. 7, pp. 185-188, January 1821.
  6. ^ The Practical Magazine, vol. 6 (new series), no. 20, p. 249, 1876
  7. ^ J. Munro, "Obituary: Sir William Siemens", Journal of the Society of Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians, vol. 13, iss. 53, pp. 442-462
  8. OCLC 655205099
    .
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