[a. F. stéréomètre, f. Gr. στερεό-ς solid + -μέτρον: see -METER.]
1. An instrument for measuring the specific gravity of porous or pulverulent bodies, invented by Say, a French officer of engineers, in 1797. Also attrib.
1801. Encycl. Brit., Suppl. II. 525/2. Stereometer, an instrument lately invented in France for measuring the volume of a body, however irregular, without plunging it in any liquid.
1856. W. H. Miller, in Phil. Trans., CXLVI. 799. To construct an instrument on the principle of the Stereometer invented by M. Say for the purpose of determining the specific gravity of gunpowder. Ibid., 801. The stereometer was mounted in a room … at the Mint, September 12, 1843. Ibid., 877. Stereometer observations.
1876. Cat. Sci. Appar. S. Kens., 30. Stereometer for ascertaining the density of bodies by determining their volume.
2. An apparatus consisting of a frame of bars and columns with sliding rods and wires, for illustrating problems in solid geometry.
1884. Knight, Dict. Mech., Suppl.
