The apparatus of the experiment consist of two brass hemispheres that fit together to form an air-tight seal.
It is nearly impossible to pull the hemispheres apart by any number of hands.
Once the air is let back in, the halves fall apart easily.
Otto von Guericke was born to a patrician family of Magdeburg in 1602.
Thereafter he studied at the Academia Julia in Helmstedt and the universities of Jena and Leiden.
It was at Leiden that he first attended courses on mathematics, physics and Military engineering.
He held this position until his retirement in 1678.
By experimentation, it was determined that this height was approximately 34 feet.
The height of the column was thus limited to the maximum weight that atmospheric pressure could support.
This is the limiting height of a suction pump.
Von Guericke made a breakthrough in 1640 by building the first vacuum pump.
Von Guerickes vacuum pump worked with a piston and was capable of pumping entire vessels empty.
Therefore he deduced that a vacuum must exist outside our atmosphere.
Engraving showing Otto von Guericke’s ‘Magdeburg hemispheres’ experiment.
The experiment was repeated two years later in his hometown of Magdeburg, where he was mayor.
The Magdeburg Hemisphere experiment became a popular way to illustrate the principles of air pressure.
Smaller copies of the hemispheres are used to this day in science classes.
A Magdeburg Hemisphere at 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal, Canada.
