Compasses without Center

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Revision as of 11:02, 27 July 2010

Has no specific name.

Contents 1 Inventor 2 Historic Period 3 Description 4 Bibliographical Resources

Inventor

Fabrizio Mordente

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Historic Period

ca. 1570

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Description

Compass for drawing large circles described by Giacomo Contarini as an invention of Fabrizio Mordente. The instrument is composed of four orthogonal rules, three of them fixed and one mobile. The user first drew a circle with an ordinary compass, then adjusted the instrument so that the points of the fixed lateral rules and the central mobile one all rested on the same circumference. He then slid the compass along the circumference so that the point opposite the central ruler could trace a circle of larger radius, repeating this operation as many times as necessary.

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Bibliographical Resources

Contarini,Giacomo, Figure d'Istromenti Matematici e loro uso, ms, ca. 1590, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Canon. Ital. 145.

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Author of the entry: Filippo Camerota