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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper and letter, 'Description of a machine for perpetuating motion' by Joseph Hopkins

Reference number: AP/12/10

Date: 17 November 1826

Description

Hopkins describes his design for a perpetual motion machine consisting of a wheel with a groove for a ball bearing, balanced on pivots and supported by pillars. Includes figures of the machine in the text. Followed by a letter from Hopkins to the John Frederick William Herschel.

Subject: Physics

Received by the Royal Society on 20 November 1826.

Reference number
AP/12/10
Earliest possible date
17 November 1826
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Unpublished paper and letter, 'Description of a machine for perpetuating motion' by Joseph Hopkins, 17 November 1826, AP/12/10, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_12_10/unpublished-paper-and-letter-description-of-a-machine-for-perpetuating-motion-by-joseph-hopkins, accessed on 22 April 2025

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_12_10/unpublished-paper-and-letter-description-of-a-machine-for-perpetuating-motion-by-joseph-hopkins

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is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.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