French Radiometer on Stem Base

Four tiny vanes balance inside a globe on a long, dark stem.

This glass radiometer on a stem base is from France, and is contemporary. Early radiometers were often credited to the English chemist William Crookes, and the spinning vane is now usually explained by gas molecules interacting with the heated surfaces. Clear and round with a pointed tip, the bulb contains a spinning cross of small, mirror-bright squares on a fine pivot. The base is a tall, slim, deep burgundy stem that flares at the foot. It is 7.5 inches high and 2 in diameter.

Elegant, delicate, and ready to spin at any signal.