On January 24, 1843, the editors of the
Brooklyn Evening Star were caught up in whirl
of excitement about an invention created by
one of their own readers, Mrs. Sarah P. Mather.
“The world,” exclaimed the newspaper article,
“is indebted to this inventor, who is not only
American, but an American Lady!” A bit further
on, the writer waxes even more effusively:
“The fair inventress says to old Neptune and
is obeyed: Ground your Trident old despot of
three fifths of our World! Lay open your dark,
hidden dominions!” (All of the italic words and
exclamation points were in the original article.)
Wow! The underwater telescope that Mrs.
Mather invented — better known today as an
aquascope — certainly caught the attention of
the New York press. Now, whether it truly merits
that sort of acclaim or not lies in the eye of the
evaluator, but after building a replica, I found
Mather’s aquascope an easy device to make
and a fun one to use. The aquascope permits
people on boats, docks, or piers to look beneath
the surface of the water to get a better view of
what is going on below. According to Mather’s
patent application, the underwater telescope
“can be used for various purposes, such as the
examination of the hulls of vessels, to examine or
discover objects under water, for fishing, blasting
rocks to clear channels” and so on.
As John Adie, Esq., wrote in an 1850 magazine
article about the then-newfangled underwater
telescopes, “The reason why we so seldom
see the bottom of the sea or a lake is due to
the irregular refractions given to the rays in
passing out of the water into the air, caused by
the constant ripple of the water where refraction
takes place.” Mather’s aquascope punches
through the optically unfriendly water surface,
bypassing glare or surface refraction and
allowing a clear picture of what goes on below.
Mather’s patent application shows how her
aquascope had a pair of unique innovations
over previous scopes (Figure
A
). First, Mather
outfitted her device with a lamp that could be
lowered into the water along with the aquascope.
This made it possible for the device to be used at
night. Second, Mather’s aquascope incorporated
an angled mirror that gave the device the ability
to look not just down but also sideways in the
TIME REQUIRED:
DIFFICULTY:
COST:
MATERIALS
Most of the materials are easily sourced at local
hardware and home stores. Online sources for
the more challenging-to-find parts are provided.
» PVC pipe, 3" diameter, 2½' long
» Clear plastic tube, 3" outside diameter, 4½"
long such as Amazon #B077F2NNRQ
» Bolt, ⁄-16×4" long, with two washers and
wing nut
» Rubber O-rings, size 012 (2) from McMaster-
Carr, mcmaster.com/9452K21
» Plastic loop clamps, ⁄" diameter (2)
mcmaster.com/2220T72
» Wood screws, #6×⁄" long (2) mcmaster.
com/91555A101
» Round convex mirror, 2½" diameter Amazon
#B01M8NXI94
» Wood square or circle, about ¼" thick, 2"×2"
or 2½" diameter
» Clear acrylic plastic, ⁄" thick, 3" diameter
» Clear silicone adhesive/sealant, 1 tube
» LED light, IXp6 waterproof Amazon
#B07XC9J2L3
» Duct tape
TOOLS
» Electric drill and drill bit set
» Small adjustable wrench
» Screwdriver
» Hand saw
» Sandpaper
» Masking tape and marking pen
1 Day
Easy
$30-$40
93
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