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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished letter, regarding 'A curious fact' from R A Gillett to the Secretary of the Royal Society

Reference number: AP/10/37

Date: 24 August 1833

Description

Letter received by the Royal Society as a result of a statement, titled 'A Curious Fact' (see AP/10 for description). Gillett quotes a mention of the Society's problem published in the Christian Advocate and Journal, and recounts an experiment performed by a friend to test the problem. They found that the phenomenon is caused by air pressure in combination with the direction and friction of the breath.

Subject: Physics

Written by Gillett, Post Master in Sweden, Monroe Co [County], NY [New York, United States].

Reference number
AP/10/37
Earliest possible date
24 August 1833
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Unpublished letter, regarding 'A curious fact' from R A Gillett to the Secretary of the Royal Society, 24 August 1833, AP/10/37, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_10_37/unpublished-letter-regarding-a-curious-fact-from-r-a-gillett-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society, accessed on 18 August 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_10_37/unpublished-letter-regarding-a-curious-fact-from-r-a-gillett-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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