Pasadena in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Beckman pH Meter
National Historic Chemical Landmark - 1934
— and Polyhedron Fountain —
Arnold O. Beckman developed the first commercially successful electronic pH meter while a member of the faculty of the California Institute of Technology. This rugged and portable “acidimeter,” which had all necessary components housed in a single unit, allowed scientists to measure acidity accurately and rapidly. It immediately met an important need of the California citrus industry: how to measure the pH of lemon juice. The innovative features of the pH meter, including an early use of integrated electronic technology, were the basis for subsequent modern instrumentation developed by Beckman and Beckman Instruments.
Polyhedron with 432 Symmetry
The polyhedron in the fountain is a snub cube, an Archimedean semi-regular solid derived from a cube, with all its edges of equal length. This shape was chosen for the central fountain in the Beckman Institute because it mimics the symmetry of the iron storage protein ferritin, which has 24 identical protein subunits arranged in 432 symmetry about a core of perhaps 4500 iron atoms in the form of a hydrated ferric hydroxyphosphate. The snub cube has 38 faces and 24 vertices, the vertices then representing the subunits of ferritin.
Erected 2004 by American Chemical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Science & Medicine.
Location. 34° 8.352′ N, 118° 7.583′ W. Marker is in Pasadena, California, in Los Angeles County. Marker can be reached from Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar Avenue. Located on the Cal Tech campus, at the Beckman Institute building, west of Beckman Auditorium. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 332 S Michigan Ave, Pasadena CA 91125, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Iris Garden (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); William Morris Davis, 1850-1930 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Throop Memorial Garden (approx. 0.2 miles away); The First Known Antiparticle (approx. 0.2 miles away); Karman Laboratory of Fluid Dynamics and Jet Propulsion (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hameetman Center (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tournament Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hale Solar Laboratory (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pasadena.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2018, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 262 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 2, 2018, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.