The works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., epitomiz'd by Richard Boulton ... ; illustrated with copper plates.

About this Item

Title
The works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., epitomiz'd by Richard Boulton ... ; illustrated with copper plates.
Author
Boyle, Robert, 1627-1691.
Publication
London :: Printed for J. Phillips ... and J. Taylor ...,
1699-1700.
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Subject terms
Physics -- Early works to 1800.
Chemistry -- Early works to 1800.
Medicine -- 15th-18th centuries.
Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28936.0001.001
Cite this Item
"The works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., epitomiz'd by Richard Boulton ... ; illustrated with copper plates." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28936.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2024.

Pages

EXPERIMENT III. Concerning the falling of a light Body in the Ex∣hausted Receiver, the Figure of it disposing it's Mo∣tion to be visibly alter'd by a small Resistance of the Air.

TO discover whether so light Bodies as Fea∣thers would be affected in their descent in the exhausted Receiver by any subtle Matter contain'd in it, we fix'd a small pair of Tobac∣co-Tongs in such a Receiver as Fig. the Fourth Represents,* 1.1 which was 22 Inches high, and ha∣ving joyn'd four Feathers together with Cement,

Page 7

so as to lie across each other, we fixed a small piece of Paper to them, which being held in the Tongs, the Feathers hung in an horizontal Po∣sture; And upon an Exsuction of the Air out of the Receiver, till by a Mercurial Gage it seem'd void of Air, we open'd the Tongs, by turning the Stopple in the Cover of the Receiver, (a short String, the one End of which was fixed to the Stopple, and the other to the Tongs, being by that means shortned) upon which we ob∣serv'd, that tho' these Feathers turned several times in the unexhausted Receiver, yet the Ex∣periment being often repeated, we could not per∣ceive them in the least to turn in the exhausted Receiver, but to fall like a dead Weight; and what was further to be observed was, that the Descent of the Feathers was much quicker in the exhausted Receiver, than when it was full of Air.

Yet in this Experiment it was observed, that the Phaenomena were less convincing than the for∣mer, because we took notice that the Feathers fell without in the least turning when the Re∣ceiver was but half exhausted.

And we further noted in this Experiment, that, the Receiver being lengthened with a Cy∣linder of Laton, cover'd over with Cement, and kept from being press'd too much inward by the outward Air, by a Case made of Iron Bars, when the Air was let in again into the exhaust∣ed Receiver, it made a considerable crackling Noise, the sides of the Metalline Receiver which before were in some measure compress'd being again extended.

Notes

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