Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries ThereuponHooke, Robert
History
Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon
Hooke, Robert
Magnifying glasses -- Early works to 1800; Microscopy -- Early works to 1800; Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
of a Window, may be so cast on an Object, as to make it twice as light
as it would otherwise be without it, and that without any inconvenience
of glaring, which the immediate light of the Sun is very apt to create
in most Objects; for by this means the light is so equally diffused,
that all parts are alike inlightned; but when the immediate light of
the Sun falls on it, the reflexions from some few parts are so vivid,
that they drown the appearance of all the other, and are themselves
also, by reason of the inequality of light, indistinct, and appear only
radiant spots.
But because the light of the Sun, and also that of a Window, is in a
continual variation, and so many Objects cannot be view’d long enough
by them to be throughly examin’d; besides that, oftentimes the Weather
is so dark and cloudy, that for many dayes together nothing can be
view’d: And because also there are many Objects to be met with in the
night, which cannot so conveniently be kept perhaps till the day,
therefore to procure and cast a sufficient quantity of light on an
Object in the night, I thought of, and often used this, Expedient.
I procur’d me a small Pedestal, such as is describ’d in the fifth
Figure of the first _Scheme_ on the small Pillar AB, of which were two
movable Armes CD, which by means of the Screws EF, I could fix in any
part of the Pillar; on the undermost of these I plac’d a pretty large
Globe of Glass G, fill’d with exceeding clear Brine, stopt, inverted,
and fixt in the manner visible in the Figure; out of the side of which
Arm proceeded another Arm H, with many joynts; to the end of which was
fastned a deep plain _Convex glass_ I, which by means of this Arm could
be moved to and fro, and fixt in any posture. On the upper Arm was
placed a small Lamp K, which could be so mov’d upon the end of the Arm,
as to be set in a fit posture to give light through the Ball: By means
of this Instrument duly plac’d, as is exprest in the Figure, with the
small flame of a Lamp may be cast as great and convenient a light on
the Object as it will well indure; and being always constant, and to be
had at any time, I found most proper for drawing the representations of
those small Objects I had occasion to observe.
None of all which ways (though much beyond any other hitherto made use
of by any I know) do afford a sufficient help, but after a certain
degree of magnifying, they leave us again in the lurch. Hence it were
very desirable, that some way were thought of for making the
Object-glass of such a Figure as would conveniently bear a large
Aperture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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