Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.15946

    Machine to weigh air

    Date
    2 August 1669
    Creator
    Francis Vernon (1632 - 1677, British) , Traveller, Traveller
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Manuscript page number
    p9
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (page): 208mm
    width (page): 160mm
    Subject
    Physics
       > Vacuum physics
          > Pneumatics
    Content object
    Description
    Figure of Christian Huygens's machine to weigh air in a letter from Francis Vernon to Henry Oldenburg, dated 2 August 1669, at Paris.

    A: the bigger cylinder.
    B: the smaller cylinder filled with water to the mark below G and D.
    C: bellows which blow wind into the pipe D, which in turn fills up the hollow of the upper cylinder B.
    E: top of the upper cylinder B, upon which weights F F are to be set to measure how much weight is needed to force out air in B.
    G: the pipe by which the air is forced out of the hole H.
    Related fellows
    Henry Oldenburg (1612 - 1677, German) , Scientific correspondent
    Francis Vernon (1632 - 1677, British) , Traveller, Traveller
    Christiaan Huygens (1629 - 2006, Dutch) , Natural philosopher
    Associated place
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > France
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