Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.15864

    Diagram for determining the angular radius of a rainbow

    Date
    25 November 1667
    Creator
    Unknown, Artist
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Manuscript page number
    p4
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (page): 300mm
    width (page): 203mm
    Subject
    Content object
    nature
       > weather
    Description
    A diagram illustrating Renatus Franciscus Slusius's derivation of the angular radius of the rainbow from Descartes's theory of the rainbow.

    Henry Oldenburg included an extract from Slusius's letter about the rainbow, dated 24 November 1667, in this letter of his own, addressed to Robert Boyle on 25 November 1667.

    This diagram in Slusius's letter can be found at EL/S1/51/003, with copies at LBO/2/097 and LBC/2/115.
    Object history
    At the meeting of the Royal Society on 28 November 1667, ‘Mr. Oldenburg produced a letter written to him by Renatus Franciscus Slusius, canon of Liege, dated there 24 November, 1667, N. S. giving an account of his method of reducing an equation of the fourth degree or biquadratic into two quadratic equations, by a circle and a parabola; and expressing his great respect to the society. It was ordered, that the secretary should return him the thanks of the society, and that Mr. Hooke and Mr. Collins should have a copy of the letter to consider, whether Mr. Slusius had effected what he had undertaken’ (Birch 2:217-18). Oldenburg’s reply is dated 25 November 1667.
    Related fellows
    Henry Oldenburg (1612 - 1677, German) , Scientific correspondent
    Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691, British) , Natural philosopher
    Renatus Franciscus Slusius (1622 - 1685, Belgian) , Mathematician
    Associated place
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > United Kingdom
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > Netherlands
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