Ophthalmologie

Augenspiegel n. Babbage

Aus meiner (aus der Zeit um 1900 stammenden) "Metzer Wunderkiste" stammt dieses Gerät, für das ich lange Jahre keinerlei Hinweis auf seine Verwendung fand. Dabei handelt es sich ganz simpel um ein früher Ophthalmoskop, nahe verwandt mit dem Ophthalmoskop von Babbage. Deshalb die etwas frechte Überschrift  (Ich weiss sehr wohl, dass es keinen erhaltenen Babbage gibt!).

"The first ophthalmoscope was invented in 1847 by Charles Babbage (1792-1871), an English mathematician. Babbage gave the device to a physician for testing, but it was laid aside and forgotten. Four years later, German physician and physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) developed his own version of the ophthalmoscope. Helmholtz was unaware of Babbage's instrument. Because he had better luck making his device known, Helmholtz is often credited as the sole inventor. (...) Swedish ophthalmologist Allvar Gullstrand (1862-1930), who also studied physiological optics, developed another version of the ophthalmoscope" (Internet).

"Charles Babbage, the mathematic genius and inventor of what many consider to be the forerunner of today's computer, his analytical machine, was the first to construct an instrument for looking into the eye. He did this in 1847, but when showing it to the eminent ophthalmologist Thomas Wharton Jones he was unable to obtain an image with it and, discouraged, did not proceed further. Little did he know that his instrument would have worked if a minus lens of about 4 or 5 dioptres had been inserted between the observer's eye and the back of the plane mirror from which two or three holes had been scraped. Some seven years later it was his design and not that of Helmholtz which had been adopted" (Internet).

Ein metallenes Rohr, an einem Ende mit einer Optik verschlossen, am andern Ende offen. Ein durchlöcherter schrägstehender Spiegel ... beim Originalbabbage dreifache Durchlöcherung und fehlende Optik! Sollte jemand wissen, von wem dieses Gerät stammt, so bitte ich ihn, es mir mitzuteilen.