In this paper we address the emergence of one of the most common instruments in 19th century physics
laboratories, Melloni’s optical bench, relying on the analysis of the most significant historical
documents. This apparatus, devised in 1835 by Macedonio Melloni, a distinguished Italian physicist
of that time, enabled the study of the properties of ‘radiant heat’, or thermal radiation as it was
then called. This apparatus is present in a large number of physics cabinets of universities and
secondary schools. In this paper, we plan to foster the educational use of this device, still
relevant for the study of infrared radiation, both by university and secondary school students and
by teachers and scholars.