page_title: Magdeburg hemispheres
hierarchical_section_title: Magdeburg hemispheres
caption_attribution_description: English: Engraving showing Otto von Guericke's 'Magdeburg hemispheres' experiment 中文（简体）‎: 图中展示了奥托·冯·居里克的“马德堡半球”实验 中文（繁體）‎: 圖中展示了奧托·馮·居里克的“馬德堡半球”實驗
context_page_description: The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum and could not be pulled apart by teams of horses. The Magdeburg hemispheres were invented by German scientist and mayor of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke, to demonstrate the air pump that he had invented, and the concept of atmospheric pressure. The first artificial vacuum had been produced a few years earlier by Evangelista Torricelli, and had inspired Guericke to design the world's first vacuum pump, which consisted of a piston and cylinder with one-way flap valves. The hemispheres became popular in physics lectures as an illustration of the strength of air pressure, and are still used in education for juniors and seniors alike. A pair of the original hemispheres are on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
context_section_description: The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure.  When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum and could not be pulled apart by teams of horses.  The Magdeburg hemispheres were invented by German scientist and mayor of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke, to demonstrate the air pump that he had invented, and the concept of atmospheric pressure.  The first artificial vacuum had been produced a few years earlier by Evangelista Torricelli, and had inspired Guericke to design the world's first vacuum pump, which consisted of a piston and cylinder with one-way flap valves.  The hemispheres became popular in physics lectures as an illustration of the strength of air pressure, and are still used in education for juniors and seniors alike.  A pair of the original hemispheres are on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
caption: Gaspar Schott's sketch of Otto von Guericke's Magdeburg hemispheres experiment.
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