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

EXPERIMENT I.

* 1.1HAving fill'd a round Glass Egg of clear Metal, and furnish'd with a Pipe some Inches long, with Water; this, together with a Viol, in which Water was likewise contain'd, was conveigh'd into a Receiver; and when the Air was exhausted, we observ'd, that Bubbles were afforded plentifully in both, so that the Water seem'd to boil, and that in the Stem of the Glass Egg ran over. This being done, and the Water in both freed from Air, we took them out, and filling up the Stem of the Glass Egg, with Water out of the Bottle, we invert∣ed it into more of the same; so that the Glass Egg and Stem was wholly full, except that a Bub∣ble of Air was contain'd in the Top of the Egg, whose Dimensions were a Tenth and less than two Centesms of an Inch. Then the Glasses being placed in the Receiver, we set the Engin on Work; and observ'd, that the Bubble gra∣dually expanded, till it fill'd up the whole Ca∣pacity of the Egg, except the Stem; and lest the Water should be thought to subside only for want of the Internal Air to bear it up, we con∣tinu'd pumping, till the Bubble in the Egg expanding further, depress'd the Sur∣face of the Water in the Stem, below the Surface of the External Water. The Air be∣ing thus far rarifi'd, we compar'd the Diame∣ter of the Bubble with the Diameter of the Glass, and found it to be as 1 to 20; and con∣sequently, according to Euclid, the Proportion betwixt Spheres being triplicate to that of their

Diameters, the Diameter of the lesser being one, the Diameter of the other must be 8000. So that the Air expanded, possess'd 8000 times the Space it possess'd before. The Glass Egg being fill'd with such Water again, and no Air included in it, tho' the Receiver was in a great measure exhausted, yet the Water did not subside, till a Bubble at the last rose to the Top, whose Diameter was to the Diameter of the Glass as 1 to 14, so that according to Euclid's Rule before-mention'd, the Bubble expanded, pos∣sess'd 2744 times as much Space as before. But Dr. Wallis, observing the great Thinness of the Glass, thought that the expanded Bubble posses∣sed 8232 times it's former Dimensions.

N. B. Water being let into the Exhausted Receiver, till it would receive no more; we found, that by reason of some Leaks, the Re∣ceiver had not been perfectly exhausted.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Air expan∣ded to a∣bove 8000 times it's natural Di∣mensions.