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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'Experiments towards the construction of new forms of instruments for the correction of compass errors due to the presence of iron in ships; with investigations on the nature of the attraction of iron on the poles of magnets' by Julius Roberts

Reference number: AP/33/24

Date: 01 February 1852

Description

Roberts aims to produce an instrument that could, under all variety of circumstances, give a correct (magnetic) meridian direction, or in some way indicate the amount of its own error. He considers that he has, at least partially, succeeded in the attainment of this object in the instrument described in this paper. In order to determine the nature of the action of a mass of iron on a magnetic needle, Roberts constructed needles with the magnetic bar wholly on one side of the central support, counterpoised by an arm carrying a weight on the other.

Annotations in pencil throughout from S H C [Samuel Hunter Christie]. Note on front reads 'Accompanied with two instruments'. Includes four plates in coloured ink of Roberts' instruments.

Subject: Marine engineering / Magnetism

Received 25 March 1852. Read 18 June 1852. Communicated by Captain [William Henry] Smyth.

Written by Roberts in Portsmouth [England].

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 6 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'Experiments towards the construction of new forms of instruments for the correction of compass errors due to the presence of iron in ships; with investigations on the nature of the attraction of iron on the poles of magnets'.

Reference number
AP/33/24
Earliest possible date
01 February 1852
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
23 pages
Format
Drawing
Manuscript

Creator name

Julius Roberts

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Citation

Julius Roberts, Unpublished paper, 'Experiments towards the construction of new forms of instruments for the correction of compass errors due to the presence of iron in ships; with investigations on the nature of the attraction of iron on the poles of magnets' by Julius Roberts, 01 February 1852, AP/33/24, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_33_24/unpublished-paper-experiments-towards-the-construction-of-new-forms-of-instruments-for-the-correction-of-compass-errors-due-to-the-presence-of-iron-in-ships-with-investigations-on-the-nature-of-the-attraction-of-iron-on-the-poles-of-magnets-by-julius-roberts, accessed on 22 January 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_33_24/unpublished-paper-experiments-towards-the-construction-of-new-forms-of-instruments-for-the-correction-of-compass-errors-due-to-the-presence-of-iron-in-ships-with-investigations-on-the-nature-of-the-attraction-of-iron-on-the-poles-of-magnets-by-julius-roberts

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    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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