Talk:Robert Hooke
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[edit] comments
Sir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica prepared April 1687 and sent to Doctor Edmund Halley for publication caused Hooke to claim priority over the realization of the inverse square law of gravity. Newton had made no mention in his first edition of Hooke's contribution, but did made some amends in the second edition. Newton tried to prevent the publication of the third edition in reaction to these claims. Hooke's 1662 voyage to the West Indies helped him discover how gravity changes (with a weaker attraction) near the equator inspired his application of the Inverse-square law in regards to planetary motion.
History knows Hooke wrote a letter to Newton in 1679 explaining his theories on planetary motion which he considered to be a force continuously acting upon the planet and diverting it from a straight path. Newton wrote back explaining his theory of the Earth's rotation, providing a sketch showing the path of a falling object spiralling towards the centre of the earth. Newton admitted his own drawing was wrong but 'corrected' Hooke's sketch based on his (Newton's) theory that the force of gravity was a constant when Hooke replied that his (Hooke's) theory of planetary motion would make the path of the falling object an ellipse - providing a sketch to demonstrate his argument. It is important to note here that Hooke wrote again to Newton stating that he (Hooke) considered gravity to involve an inverse square law. Gravity isn't a constant as Hooke could empirically prove.
Hooke's contemporaries may have had difficulties in grasping this concept for in 1684 Wren, Hooke, and Halley discussed at the Royal Society, whether the elliptical shape of planetary orbits was a consequence of an inverse square law of force depending on the distance from the Sun. Halley wrote that Robert Hook says he has the answer but would not publish it for some time so that others (Newton?) trying and failing might know how to value it. Newton tried to prevent the publication of the third edition in reaction to these claims. Fifty years later, after the death of Hooke when Newton wrote his own recollections of these events, the account he gives disagrees with the historical facts and records surviving this period. These records are available for inspection today.
When Newton became the President of the Royal Society in 1703, the year of Hooke's death, his duties would have involved the responsibility of the society's repository, including the various donations by fellows of the society. Many of Hooke's contributions have been lost or dispersed without record as to what happened to them. Hooke's design for a marine chronometer was rediscovered only in 1950 at the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Conjecture may suggest that Newton acted deliberately in losing many important works. Many other causes could have contributed to the loss of these items —— although it might be considered that Newton had motives to imply culpability.
FYI - The portrait was recently rediscovered! - Sparky
- As it happens I have just borrowed my father's copy of the relevant five volumes of Gunther's Early Science at Oxford which has renewed my interest (trivia: at least one of the five was Espinasse's personal copy). Some light reading for bedtime, there :-) - Just zis Guy, you know? [T]/[C] (W) AfD? 15:10, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Diminutive stature
Was Hooke 5'10"? Do we have a reference. If so that doesn't sound particularly short. In fact according to [1], 70% of American men today are 5'10" or shorter.
On the other hand he may have had a stoop, as mentioned in the quotes here. -- Solipsist 01:02, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- Solipsist is right, this is quite clear form the papers in Gunther. - Just zis Guy, you know? [T]/[C] (W) AfD? 13:28, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Robbert Hooke's childhood
[edit] John Ray/Robert Hooke
This image is claimed to be of Hooke, but is not authenticated. Is it worth adding it to the article itself, if only to illustrate the view (stated in the article) that it is authentic? GeeJo (t) (c) 02:26, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
- I'd say so. It is consistent with contemporary descriptions of Hooke, and the argument advanced by Jardine is (if I recall correctly) reasonably convincing. - Just zis Guy, you know? [T]/[C] AfD? 11:49, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
It is offensive to offer the portrait at the head of the article with a caption that says this is not the subject. It is unnecessary to show a discredited portrait. Is there no picture of the bust ? Reg nim
- I see that some one (Reg nim?) has deleted the discredited portrait. I think we have to agree and let the deletion stand. --Concrete Cowboy 18:52, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Dugald Stewart on Hooke's Priority
In his Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind, Ch. 4, Sect. 4, Dugald Stewart quoted Hooke as follows: "I will explain (says Hooke, in a communication to the Royal Society in 1666) a system of the world very different from any yet received. It is founded on the three following positions. 1. That all the heavenly bodies have not only a gravitation of their parts to their own proper centre, but that they also mutually attract each other within their spheres of action. 2. That all bodies having a simple motion, will continue to move in a straight line, unless continually deflected from it by some extraneous force, causing them to describe a circle, an ellipse, or some other curve. 3. That this attraction is so much the greater as the bodies are nearer. As to the proportion in which those forces diminish by an increase of distance, I own I have not discovered it, although I have made some experiments to this purpose. I leave this to others, who have time and knowledge sufficient for the task."Lestrade 19:45, 9 March 2006 (UTC)Lestrade
[edit] Boyle, maybe
"It is possible that Hooke formally stated Boyle's Law, as Boyle was not a mathematician." Certainly it is possible, but is it supported or speculation? If the latter, I think it would be at least as good to leave teh reader to make that speculation - just saying that Boyle was not, assuming that is clear, a mathematician, an that Hooke was and worked for him. Midgley 13:40, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
- It's in Gunther. Just zis Guy you know? 19:19, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
- OK, maybe it should read "Gunther suggests.." /speculated/wondered. Neal Stephenson gave Hooke a mixed sort of treatment - presumably he had read Gunther...Midgley 22:21, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Hooke Folio surfaces
From The Independent", Fri 17th March 2006, page 6: Hooke Mss to fetch more than £1m. The RObert Hooke Folio (picture) lost for 300y and encapsulates the revolution in scientific understnading in the 1660s is expeceted to fetch . auction Bonhams, London. record of the scientist's experim.. ; correspondence 3 inches thick auction 28th March." Midgley 13:40, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Flea drawing
Since there was no evidience for the assertion that the flea drawing was by Christopher Wren and the image page attributes it to Hooke, I have removed "by Christpher Wren". IanWills 14:07, 29 March 2006 (UTC)IanWills
Robert Hooke was a very tough scientist. After his fathers death and an orphanage of a childhood he still was one of the most famous scientists of his time.
[edit] Inconsitancies
The list of Hooke's inventions seems to have some incorrect listings. On this page he is credited with the invention of the compound microscope and thermometer. Other pages contradict this.(and I'm pretty sure the other pages are right)I Used To Be DooD 00:01, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The Rhumb Lines
From the article for Rhumb Lines as were in 20/01/07 00:37 GMT:
"In navigation, a rhumb line (or loxodrome) is a line crossing all meridians at the same angle, i.e. a path of constant bearing. It is obviously easier to manually steer than the constantly changing heading of the shorter great circle route.
The idea of a loxodrome was invented by a Portuguese Mathematician Pedro Nunes in the 1500s."
MindMeNot 00:36, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
