Much of the history of science could be told through the medium of glass. The alchemists relied on the chemical inertness and heat resistance of glass and ceramic vessels in their investigations of chemical change. Its refractive properties allowed the telescopes of Galileo and the microscopes of van Leeuwenhoek to expand the scope of human vision. Later, the sealed glass envelope would prove essential to the development of a vast array of vacuum tubes, from CRT screens to photomultipliers.
When practical instruction in physics was established at the University of Toronto, a knowledge of glassworking was essential to fabricating and repairing laboratory apparatus. Reminiscing in 1907 on the foundation of the first physics teaching laboratory in the University College building in 1878, Professor James Loudon, noted:
“In one of my first difficulties—how to make air-tight joints between glass and iron tubes—I applied to the late Professor Rowland, of Baltimore, and received the advice to break a dozen tubes in discovering a way. To learn by making mistakes is not a bad plan, if you can afford it.”
By the end of the First World War, the Department of Physics had begun sophisticated original research in physics under Professor John Cunningham McLennan (1867 – 1935). In order to assist McLennan’s research into liquid helium, the University of Toronto hired a scientific glassblower. Reuben Chappell arrived at the University of Toronto from England in September of 1920. He worked at the University until 1986.
Reuben Chappell demonstrating his skill at a branch meeting of the American Scientific Glassblowers Society in 1980.
This photograph has been catalogued digitized by UTARMS as B2014-0012/001P (04).
Over his decades at the Department of Physics, Chappell’s work made possible important projects, including much experimental work in low-temperature physics. He also worked on the vacuum system used in the 1938 electron microscope and the mercury-filled envelope of the Toronto lamp. He was the first of several glassblowers to be hired by the Department of Physics. Many more have worked at other University of Toronto departments.
An image from a film called Old Art for a New Science: the building of a cryostat for Raman studies of crystals that was made at the Department of Physics in 1973. The film shows the process of fabricating a complex cryostat by glassblower John (Jack) Legge (1927-2020). This instrument was used in the Raman spectroscopy of frozen hydrogen by PhD graduate Steven A. Boggs (1946-2018). University of Toronto Archives. University of Toronto. Media Centre. A1996-0008. This film has been digitized and is available on YouTube.
Exhibit Artifacts
Helium Neon (He-Ne) laser (1960s)
This glass apparatus is a powerful, locally made laser.
Like the “Toronto” mercury lamp below, this instrument was likely built to perform Raman spectroscopy. Toronto was an early leader in laser spectroscopy. Late in 1960, U of T graduate (later Professor of Physics) Professor Boris Stoicheff (1924-2010) and collaborator Gary Hanes built the first operational laser in Canada for use in their spectroscopic research. The laser quickly replaced the incandescent lamp as a monochromatic light source.
Two-Stage Mercury Diffusion Pump (1960s)
Relying on the circulation of mercury vapour, such an instrument would not be used today.
Instruments of this kind were typically used to pump down vacuum systems for scientific research. The technology uses a jet of mercury vapour to entrain gas molecules and draw them out of the system.
This example was used in the late 1960s in Derek York’s K-Ar laboratory. While mercury vapour is highly toxic, mercury was preferred over other pumping methods in this case because mercury left little trace in the system’s mass spectrometer.
It is unclear whether this example was purchased commercially or made by a local glassblower. Imperfections in parts of the glass surface suggest that it was at least repaired locally, likely by the glassblower Jack Legge. Though challenging to make, and obviously very intricate, one former researcher in York’s lab describes the pump as “incredibly rugged”.