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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Paper, 'An account of the experiment made December the 20th 1704 at a meeting of the Royal Society December at Gresham College about firing gunpowder in vacuo Boyliano with a candent iron' by Francis Hauksbee

Reference number: CLP/18i/81

Date: 1704-1705

Description

Hauksbee writes: 'The candent iron being included in a recipient proper for that purpose, and the air withdrawn (which was in about two minutes of time) the mercury then in the gage standing at 29 inches ½, a quantity of gunpowder was made immediately to descend upon the red hot Iron, which continu’d upon the surface of it some small time before it went off, and then was observ'd not to fire all at once; and the last of the quantity that did so, seem’d to give the greatest flash: upon which, the mercurial gage was taken notice of to descend something more than an Inch, it rising again 3/10 of the same.'

Subject: Physics

Published in Philosophical Transactions as 'An experiment made at a meeting of the R. Society Decemb. 20. 1704. of firing gun-powder on a red hot Iron in Vacuo Boyliano'

Reference number
CLP/18i/81
Earliest possible date
1704-1705
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
1 page
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Francis Hauksbee

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Citation

Francis Hauksbee, Paper, 'An account of the experiment made December the 20th 1704 at a meeting of the Royal Society December at Gresham College about firing gunpowder in vacuo Boyliano with a candent iron' by Francis Hauksbee, 1704-1705, CLP/18i/81, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_18i_81/paper-an-account-of-the-experiment-made-december-the-20th-1704-at-a-meeting-of-the-royal-society-december-at-gresham-college-about-firing-gunpowder-in-vacuo-boyliano-with-a-candent-iron-by-francis-hauksbee, accessed on 20 January 2026

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_18i_81/paper-an-account-of-the-experiment-made-december-the-20th-1704-at-a-meeting-of-the-royal-society-december-at-gresham-college-about-firing-gunpowder-in-vacuo-boyliano-with-a-candent-iron-by-francis-hauksbee

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  • Classified Papers

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

    Dates: 1592 - 1741

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