Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.15664

    Instrument to measure the velocity of falling bodies

    Date
    29 August 1664
    Creator
    Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 2006, Dutch) , Natural philosopher
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Manuscript page number
    p4
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (page): 225mm
    width (page): 174mm
    Subject
    Content object
    space
       > Solar system
          > planet
             > Saturn
    Description
    A figure of an instrument to measure the velocity of falling bodies drawn by Christian Huygens in his letter to Robert Moray, dated 29 August 1664. It was read at the Royal Society's meeting on 31 August 1664, when it was noted that it was similar to the one designed by Robert Hooke (Cl.P/20/12/001), which Huygens had not yet seen.

    There are copies at EL/H1/36/003, LBO/1/185 and LBC/1/214.
    Object history
    At the meeting of the Royal Society on 31 August 1664, ‘[Sir Robert Moray] produced a letter of Mons. Huygens, dated at the Hague, 29 Aug. 1664, N. S, mentioning an instrument devised by him for measuring the velocity of descending bodies (which was found not much different from that of Mr. Hooke invented before) as also, a new observation concerning Saturn, made the last spring at Rome, by one Campani, viz. that the circle of Saturn had covered a part of its sphere above, and had been covered thereby below, even with a little shadow upon the circle below, and upon the sphere above’ (Birch 1:464).
    Related fellows
    Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 2006, Dutch) , Natural philosopher
    Robert Moray (1608 - 1673, British) , Natural philosopher
    Associated place
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > Netherlands
    Powered by CollectionsIndex+/CollectionsOnline