Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 81.djvu/112

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The Gauss tower on the Hohehagen indicates the exact location of a corner of a geodetic triangle in a survey established by Gauss. This triangle is classic in the history of geodesy. It was on that survey that the now famous instrument, invented by Gauss, called the "heliotrope," was used for the first time. It reflects the rays of the sun from one station to another many miles distant so that directions can be measured accurately and signals sent from station to station.

The high esteem in which Gauss is held in Germany is shown also by the recent dedication of another "Gauss room" in the town of Braunschweig. The house at No. 30 Wilhelmsstrasse, bears a tablet with the inscription: "In this house was born Carl Friedrich Gauss on April 30, 1777." The plan to establish in this house a "Gausszimmer" was carried out by the Historical Union of the Herzogtum Braunschweig. All sorts of Gauss relics have been gathered and are exhibited here. Photographs are shown of near relatives and the immediate descendants of Gauss, among whom are several Americans. Braunschweig has always been proud of its illustrious son. There is a statue of him in that city, on one side of which the close observer will