Paper, 'Experiments concerning the time required in the descent of different bodies, of different magnitudes and weights, in common air, from a certain height' by Francis Hauksbee

Description

Hauksbee writes: 'To make these Experiments accurately, I devised the following Apparatus, to account exactly for the time of the Bodies descending. At the Height from which the Balls were to be dropt, I fix’d a contrivance in form of a Trough, in all about 4 Feet long; and the end of it, on which the Balls were laid, was loose, swinging on 2 Pins at the extremity of it. This loose end was supported by a thin Piece of Board, which slid under it through a Groove from the other part of the Board: To this sliding Board was fix'd a String, which related to a small Wire that reach'd to the bottom of the Descent, where it (the Wire) had a Communication with a Contrivance, to give motion to a Pendulum which beat 1/2 Seconds: Now when this sliding Board (just mention’d) was drawn from under that part of the Trough on which the Balls were placed, the String thereby became so much shorten’d, as to move the Limb of that Contrivance at bottom, which dropt the Pendulum at the same instant of time, as the Balls began to descend.' He goes on to describe the results of a series of experiments made using this apparatus. The experiments were made on 7 and 14 June 1710.

Subject: Physics

Published in Philosophical Transactions as 'Experiments concerning the time required in the descent of different bodies, of different magnitudes and weights in common air, from a certain height'

Reference number

CLP/18i/126

Earliest possible date

1710

Physical description

Ink on paper

Page extent

3 pages

Format

Manuscript