Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.14254

    Apparatus for fetching up water from any depth of the sea

    Date
    30 September 1663
    Creator
    Unknown, Artist
    After
    Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703, British) , Natural philosopher
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Manuscript page number
    p302
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (page): 350mm
    width (page): 230mm
    Subject
    Content object
    Description
    A diagram illustrating apparatus designed by Robert Hooke to fetch samples of water from any depth of the sea using a wooden bucket with a lid that remains open while the bucket descends, but closes when it begins to be drawn back up to the surface. The upper part of the diagram shows the first state of the apparatus as it is in operation, and the lower part shows the second state.

    This design was discussed at the meeting of the Royal Society on 30 September 1663 and printed in Philosophical Transactions, vol. 1, no. 9 (May 1665), and again in vol. 2, no. 24 (April 1667).

    The original drawing for this apparatus by Hooke is found at Cl.P/20/23/001.
    Transcription
    The way for fetching up water from any depth in, the sea, is with a square wooden bucket C, whose bottoms EE, are soe contrived that as the weight A sinks the Iron B, (to which the bucket C is fastened by two handles - DD on the ends of which, are the movable bottoms or values EE) and consequently draws down the Bucket, the existance of the water to its descending keeps up the bucket in the posture C, whereby the water has all the while it is descending a cleer passage through.
    Transcribed by the Making Visible project
    Object history
    At the meeting of the Royal Society on 30 September 1663, ‘Mr. Hooke brought in the description of the new ways contrived by him for sounding the depth of the sea without a line, and fetching water from any depth; which were ordered to be registered’ (Birch 1:307). Text and figure printed in Birch 1:307-08.

    Printed in R. Hooke, 'Directions for observations and experiments to be made by masters of ships, pilots and other fit persons in their sea voyages', Phil. Trans. vol. 2, no. 24 (April 1667), pp. 433-48.
    Related fellows
    Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703, British) , Natural philosopher
    Associated place
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