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
REFERENCES.--Noad, “Manual of Electricity,” 1859, p. 525, _Phil.
Trans._, Vols. XVIII-XXV; “Biog. Générale,” Vol. XXI. p. 902;
Ninth “Britannica,” Vol. XI. p. 182; J. J. Fahie, “A History of
El. Tel. to the year 1837,” London, 1884, p. 24.
=A.D. 1693.=--In the first volume (Letter IV. pp. 25–28) of the
“Memoirs for the Ingenious ...” by J. de la Crosse, are given accounts
of several “New experiments on the loadstone; of a needle touch’d with
it, and plac’d directly over the needle of a compass; of two Mariner’s
Needles hang’d freely over one another, at several distances; of a
touch’d steel-ring. Reasons of these experiments. The earth magnetical.”
In explanation of all this, M. de la Hire supposes “that the mass of
the earth is a great loadstone, which directs the poles of the same
name in all the loadstones and touch’d needles, towards the same place
of the earth; so that the two hang’d needles do but remove from this
natural position by the particular force they have of driving away
each other’s poles of the same name; which force, in a certain degree,
is not sufficient to overcome the power of the great loadstone of the
earth.”
An account of M. P. de la Hire’s “new sort of a magnetical compass” had
already appeared in the _Phil. Trans._ for 1686–1687, Vol. XVI.
No. 188, p. 344.
REFERENCES.--For De la Hire, the following abridgments of the
_Phil. Trans._: Lowthorp, London, 1722, Vol. II. pp. 620–622;
Baddam, London, 1739, Vol. IV. pp. 473–478; Hutton, London,
1809, Vol. III. p. 381; also “The Phil. Hist. and Mem. of the
Roy. Acad. at Paris,” by Martyn and Chambers, London, 1742, Vol.
II. pp. 273–277; Vol. V. pp. 272–282 and the “Table Alphab. ...
Acad. Royale,” by M. Godin, Paris, Vol. II. p. 16 and Vol. X.
pp. 164 and 734.
=A.D. 1696.=--Zahn (F. Joannes), prebendary of the Prémontrés
Order at Celle near Wurtzburg and provost of the convent of Niederzell,
celebrated for his philosophical and mathematical studies, publishes
his highly valued “Specula physico-mathematico-historica-notabilium ac
mirabilium sciendorum ...” throughout the three folio volumes of which
he treats extensively of the wonders of the entire universe.
In his tabulated list of the origin and properties of all the different
known gems and stones (Vol. II. chap. vii. p. 55), he states that
the loadstone, first discovered at Magnesia in Lydia (Caria--on the
Mæander) is heavy, very well shaped, and of a dark colour verging upon
blue. The marvellous properties of gems and stones are detailed at pp.
59–73 of the same volume, the fifth paragraph of Chap. VIII treating of
the loadstone’s many virtues and admirable qualities, as exemplified
in the writings of Guilielmus Gilbertus, Nicolaus Zucchius, Nicolaus
Cabæus, Athanasius Kircherus, Eusebius Nierembergius, Laurentius
Forerus, Hieronymus Dandinus, Jacobus Grandamicus, Ludovicus Alcazar,
Claudius Franciscus Milliet de Chales, as well as of many others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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