Virtual exhibits

The Glows of Vacuum

The virtual exhibition “The Glows of Vacuum” explores the fascinating connection between electricity and pneumatics starting from the seventeenth century, highlighting how these two fields of physics have intertwined, leading to revolutionary discoveries. Through five thematic sections, the exhibition tells the story of electrical discharges in rarefied atmosphere, phenomena that laid the foundations for the great discoveries of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: from X-rays to the electron, to radioactivity.

The itinerary follows a chronological path, from the seventeenth century to the present day, highlighting how research on “glows in vacuum” has changed our understanding of the natural world and has led to important technological innovations.