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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'An account of certain experiments made with a view of determining the law of attraction between iron and a magnetic compass needle' by P [Peter] Barlow

Reference number: AP/8A/1

Date: 10 May 1819

Description

Paper by Barlow recounting experiments to determine the law of attraction between iron and magnetic compass needles. His distils his findings into four rules that can be used to calculate the effect of the local attraction of a ship upon a compass at any location where the dip of the magnetic needle is known. Includes two illustrations.

Annotations appear throughout in graphite. Pages 1-9 are missing from the manuscript.

Subject: Physics

Written by Barlow at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich [London]. Read to the Royal Society on 27 May 1819.

Reference number
AP/8A/1
Earliest possible date
10 May 1819
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
18 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Peter Barlow

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Citation

Peter Barlow, Unpublished paper, 'An account of certain experiments made with a view of determining the law of attraction between iron and a magnetic compass needle' by P [Peter] Barlow, 10 May 1819, AP/8A/1, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_8a_1/unpublished-paper-an-account-of-certain-experiments-made-with-a-view-of-determining-the-law-of-attraction-between-iron-and-a-magnetic-compass-needle-by-p-peter-barlow, accessed on 10 July 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_8a_1/unpublished-paper-an-account-of-certain-experiments-made-with-a-view-of-determining-the-law-of-attraction-between-iron-and-a-magnetic-compass-needle-by-p-peter-barlow

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is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.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