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Unpublished letter and paper, 'Observations on the progress of bodies floating in a stream: with an account of some experiments made in the River Thames, with a view to discover a method for ascertaining the direction of currents' by James Burney

Reference number: AP/7/3

Date: August 1808 - May 1809

Description

Burney writes on observations and experiments relating to the progress and acceleration of bodies that float in a stream, and which often descend faster than the stream itself, a phenomenon that Burney posits is due to perpendicular pressure. Preceded by a follow-up letter providing further clarifications on the paper.

Subject: Physics

Read to the Royal Society on 16 February and 18 May 1809.

Reference number
AP/7/3
Earliest possible date
August 1808 - May 1809
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
14 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

James Burney

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Citation

James Burney, Unpublished letter and paper, 'Observations on the progress of bodies floating in a stream: with an account of some experiments made in the River Thames, with a view to discover a method for ascertaining the direction of currents' by James Burney, August 1808 - May 1809, AP/7/3, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_7_3/unpublished-letter-and-paper-observations-on-the-progress-of-bodies-floating-in-a-stream-with-an-account-of-some-experiments-made-in-the-river-thames-with-a-view-to-discover-a-method-for-ascertaining-the-direction-of-currents-by-james-burney, accessed on 17 February 2025

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  • Archived Papers

    Dates: 1768-1989

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is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

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