Skip to content

Please be aware that some material may contain words, descriptions or illustrations which will not reflect current scientific understanding and may be considered in today's context inaccurate, unethical, offensive or distressing.

The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'An attempt to account for the discrepancy between the actual velocity of sound in air or vapour and that resulting from theory' by William Ritchie

Reference number: AP/21/8

Date: November 1836

Description

Ritchie references Isaac Newton's work on the velocity of an undulation in an elastic medium as well as Pierre-Simon Laplace's attempts to reconcile the difference between theory and observation regarding the velocity of sound in air. Ritchie undertakes calculations and experiments regarding the velocity of sound in air or vapour and shares his observations. Annotated in pencil throughout.

Subject: Physics / Mechanics

Received 30 November 1837. Read 12 January 1837.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 3 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'An attempt to account for the discrepancy between the actual velocity of sound in air or vapour, and that resulting from theory'.

Reference number
AP/21/8
Earliest possible date
November 1836
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
16 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

William Ritchie

View page for William Ritchie

Use this record

IIIF manifest

View​ IIIF ​ manifest Opens in new tab

Open in Mirador viewer Opens in new tab

Export this record

Download PDF Opens in new tab

Citation

William Ritchie, Unpublished paper, 'An attempt to account for the discrepancy between the actual velocity of sound in air or vapour and that resulting from theory' by William Ritchie, November 1836, AP/21/8, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_21_8/unpublished-paper-an-attempt-to-account-for-the-discrepancy-between-the-actual-velocity-of-sound-in-air-or-vapour-and-that-resulting-from-theory-by-william-ritchie, accessed on 30 April 2025

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_21_8/unpublished-paper-an-attempt-to-account-for-the-discrepancy-between-the-actual-velocity-of-sound-in-air-or-vapour-and-that-resulting-from-theory-by-william-ritchie

Embed this record

<iframe src="https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/embed/items/ap_21_8/unpublished-paper-an-attempt-to-account-for-the-discrepancy-between-the-actual-velocity-of-sound-in-air-or-vapour-and-that-resulting-from-theory-by-william-ritchie" title="Unpublished paper, 'An attempt to account for the discrepancy between the actual velocity of sound in air or vapour and that resulting from theory' by William Ritchie" allow="fullscreen" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="500px"></iframe>

Related Publications

Related Records

Hierarchy

This item is part of:

Related Fellows

Explore the collection

  • 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

    View collection