Bibliographical history of electricity & magnetism, chronologically arranged
History
Bibliographical history of electricity & magnetism, chronologically arranged
Electricity -- History; Electricity -- History -- Bibliography; Magnetism -- History; Magnetism -- History -- Bibliography; Science, Medieval
It will be well to look at the last-named work of Dr. Whewell for
references to Jeremiah Horrox--Horrockes--(1619–1641), the celebrated
young English scientist, who wrote in defence of the Copernican opinion
in his “Keplerian Astronomy defended and promoted” (“Hist. of the
Ind. Sc.,” Vol. I. Book V. chap. iii. p. 276, and Chap. V. p. 303),
as well as for references to Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608–1679).
Borelli, who has by many been erroneously called a pupil of Galileo,
was a distinguished Italian physicist and astronomer, born at Naples
in 1608, who founded what has been called the iatromathematical
school, which, under the protection of Leopold of Tuscany, became
known as the Accademia del Cimento. Whewell speaks of him in Vol. I.
at Book VI. chap. ii. p. 323, at Book VII. chap i. pp. 387, 393, 394,
and at Chap. II. pp. 303, 395, 405, 406. Horrox is mentioned, more
particularly, by Houzeau et Lancaster (“Bibliog. Générale,” Vol. II.
p. 167), also at pp. 12 and 220, Vol. II of Hutton’s abridgments of
the _Phil. Trans._; while full accounts of the many important
works of Borelli are to be found in “Biogr. Générale,” Vol. VI. pp.
700–701; Ninth “Britannica,” Vol. IV. p. 53; Larousse, “Dict. Univ.,”
Vol. II. p. 1003; “Chambers’ Encycl.,” 1888, Vol. II. p. 328; “La
Grande Encycl.,” Vol. VII. p. 405; Nicéron, “Mémoires,” Vol. VIII. p.
257; Vigneul-Marville, “Mélanges,” Vol. II. p. 122; Sachs, “Onomasticon
Literarium,” V. 40; Hagen, “Memoriæ Philosophorum,” Frankfort, 1710.
=A.D. 1613.=--Ridley (Marke), “Doctor in physicke and philosophie,
latly physition to the Emperour of Russia and one of ye eight
principals or elects of the College of Physitions in London,” is the
author of a small quarto entitled “A Short Treatise of Magnetical
Bodies and Motions,” published in London, 1613. Of this treatise,
Libri says that the author, in his preface, deals tolerantly with
the many and varied theories concerning magnetic bodies, instancing
many of the most notable from those of Pliny and Nicander to those of
Robert Norman. He is particularly emphatic concerning the production
of perpetual motion by means of the loadstone, finding it “by the
experience of many ingenious practices ... impossible to be done.”
From the notice given him in “Dict. of Nat. Biog.,” 1896, Vol.
XLVIII. pp. 285–286, we learn that in the above-named work, he claims
acquaintance with William Gilbert, whom he commends as the greatest
discoverer in magnetical science, and that after giving twenty-four
chapters on the properties and description of the magnet, he discusses
the variation of the compass and methods of estimating it in eight
chapters, the inclinatory needle in eight others, concluding with
a chapter on finding the longitude and one “of the matter of the
magnetical globe of the earth by the needle.”
In 1617, he published “Animadversions on a late work entitled
Magnetical Advertisement; or, Observations on the Nature and Properties
of the Loadstone.”
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