Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was a highly distinguished British scientist regarded as the most eminent man of science of his day. He made several important scientific achievements, including demonstrating the existence of hydrogen, proving water is a compound, and determining the density of the Earth. Though he published little, after his death Clerk Maxwell found over 20 packages of Cavendish's manuscripts on electricity, which had quietly presaged many important results of the following century. Cavendish was an extremely shy man who lived as a recluse, yet participated in London's intellectual life as a fellow of the Royal Society and trustee of the British Museum.
The document provides information about an upcoming study abroad course in England in July 2017, including an informational meeting on October 26th and a study abroad fair on November 9th. It also provides details on how to apply for pre-approval for the course and find scholarship opportunities through the education abroad office.
The document provides basic questions about locations, historical events, and places but lacks details about what, where, or when regarding the context of the questions. It poses questions about mistakes in listing locations, the tradition of the Lord Chancellor sitting on the Woolsack, stone structures from ancient times in the UK, Prime Ministers of the UK, famous British schools, a famous British scientist, the boroughs of New York City, landmarks in London, explorers of America, the kingdoms and capitals of the UK, and the Prime Meridian. However, it provides no additional context for the questions.
Henry Cavendish was an English physicist and chemist born in 1731 in Nice, France. He conducted experiments on the nature and properties of hydrogen and discovered the element helium. Cavendish was a shy and quiet man who had difficulty communicating even with his servants. His greatest scientific achievement was discovering the element helium through experiments conducted in a controlled environment using specialized instruments he developed. The University of Cambridge later established a laboratory in his honor.
A presentation designed for Senior Ancient History classes. These slides give a quick tour of the early history of Rome prior to a unit on the collapse of the Republic.
Sir William Gilbert hypothesized in the late 1500s that Earth acts as a giant magnet, explaining why compasses point north. While Earth's core is too hot to be the source of magnetism, the circulation of molten material in the core is related to Earth's magnetic field. Earth's magnetic poles are located in northern Canada and Antarctica, differing from the geographic poles. Earth's magnetic field can magnetize ferromagnetic materials like iron over long periods of time.
The document discusses the history of Roman literature in three periods. The first period from 240-80 BC saw the development of drama, epics, satire and prose influenced by Greek models. The golden age from 80 BC to AD 14 represented the highest excellence in prose and poetry, including famous writers like Cicero, Sallust and Caesar. The third period from AD 14 to 180 saw a decline with the loss of freedom and interest in public life, though literature remained popular among some. Major Roman and Greek gods and goddesses are also listed with brief descriptions of their domains.
Roman architecture was heavily influenced by the Etruscans and Greeks. The Romans perfected wide-span construction using concrete and innovative arch designs. Their most iconic structures included temples, aqueducts, amphitheaters like the Colosseum, and public baths. Roman architecture emphasized durable construction on a grand scale to impress and serve large populations in expanding cities and across their empire.
The document provides information about an upcoming study abroad course in England in July 2017, including an informational meeting on October 26th and a study abroad fair on November 9th. It also provides details on how to apply for pre-approval for the course and find scholarship opportunities through the education abroad office.
The document provides basic questions about locations, historical events, and places but lacks details about what, where, or when regarding the context of the questions. It poses questions about mistakes in listing locations, the tradition of the Lord Chancellor sitting on the Woolsack, stone structures from ancient times in the UK, Prime Ministers of the UK, famous British schools, a famous British scientist, the boroughs of New York City, landmarks in London, explorers of America, the kingdoms and capitals of the UK, and the Prime Meridian. However, it provides no additional context for the questions.
Henry Cavendish was an English physicist and chemist born in 1731 in Nice, France. He conducted experiments on the nature and properties of hydrogen and discovered the element helium. Cavendish was a shy and quiet man who had difficulty communicating even with his servants. His greatest scientific achievement was discovering the element helium through experiments conducted in a controlled environment using specialized instruments he developed. The University of Cambridge later established a laboratory in his honor.
A presentation designed for Senior Ancient History classes. These slides give a quick tour of the early history of Rome prior to a unit on the collapse of the Republic.
Sir William Gilbert hypothesized in the late 1500s that Earth acts as a giant magnet, explaining why compasses point north. While Earth's core is too hot to be the source of magnetism, the circulation of molten material in the core is related to Earth's magnetic field. Earth's magnetic poles are located in northern Canada and Antarctica, differing from the geographic poles. Earth's magnetic field can magnetize ferromagnetic materials like iron over long periods of time.
The document discusses the history of Roman literature in three periods. The first period from 240-80 BC saw the development of drama, epics, satire and prose influenced by Greek models. The golden age from 80 BC to AD 14 represented the highest excellence in prose and poetry, including famous writers like Cicero, Sallust and Caesar. The third period from AD 14 to 180 saw a decline with the loss of freedom and interest in public life, though literature remained popular among some. Major Roman and Greek gods and goddesses are also listed with brief descriptions of their domains.
Roman architecture was heavily influenced by the Etruscans and Greeks. The Romans perfected wide-span construction using concrete and innovative arch designs. Their most iconic structures included temples, aqueducts, amphitheaters like the Colosseum, and public baths. Roman architecture emphasized durable construction on a grand scale to impress and serve large populations in expanding cities and across their empire.
The document is an announcement for a National Science Day Quiz being presented by ANVESHA. It includes several multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank style quiz questions about famous scientists and their discoveries throughout history. Some of the scientists featured include Archimedes, James Clerk Maxwell, Marie Curie, John Dalton, Malpighi, and Raman.
Sir Humphry Davy was a Cornish chemist and inventor in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is best remembered for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals through electrolysis. He worked at the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol investigating medical uses of gases, where he discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide and experimented on himself. In 1801, Davy was hired by the Royal Institution in London, where he gave popular lectures on chemistry and electricity and continued his groundbreaking experiments.
Frank sewall swedenborgandthesapientiaangelica-london-1910Francis Batt
Swedenborg studied at Uppsala University from age 11, focusing on philosophy. In 1710, with his brother-in-law's help, he went abroad for 5 years to study science in England, Holland, France and Germany. Upon returning to Sweden, he worked on inventions and published works on mathematics and industrial arts. He served as an engineer and assessor for the Swedish government. In 1721, Swedenborg began publishing works on chemistry, mechanics, and astronomy. His major work, Principia, published from 1734, attempted to reduce natural phenomena to a geometric system and argued that all things originated from an infinite first natural point.
This document provides an overview and introduction to The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature, which is a collection of essays edited by David Wallace that offers a comprehensive account of literature composed in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland between the Norman Conquest and the reign of Henry VIII. It discusses the organization of the volume and its goals of providing both specialists and general readers with information on a vast range of medieval literary texts and the contexts of their production and reception.
This document provides an overview and introduction to The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature edited by David Wallace. It describes the book as the first full-scale history of medieval English literature published in nearly a century. The volume contains 33 essays divided into 5 sections covering literature from the Norman Conquest to the death of Henry VIII written in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. It provides information on a wide range of literary texts and their historical contexts.
This document profiles 12 innovators in science through brief biographies. It discusses their various scientific contributions and accomplishments, including Dmitri Mendeleev creating the periodic table, Rachel Carson's influence on environmental legislation through her book Silent Spring, Roald Hoffman developing a framework in chemistry, and Lonnie Johnson inventing the Super Soaker water gun. Other scientists mentioned are René Descartes, Paul Dirac, Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, James Clerk Maxwell, Dorothy Hodgkin, and Nikola Tesla.
Analysis of Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (General Prologue, The Knig...Kareen Jane Canillas
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet and author born around 1343 in London. He is considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and is best known for his work The Canterbury Tales. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of over 20 stories told by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury Cathedral. The stories range in tone from pious to vulgar and include genres such as romance, fabliaux, saints' lives, animal fables, and allegories. Chaucer drew from a variety of sources such as Boccaccio's Decameron and helped establish English as a legitimate literary language.
Deborah Harkness' new book The Jewel House examines the scientific community in 16th century London and argues that the collaborative efforts of urban scientists made London a melting pot where a new mathematical and experimental culture developed. Harkness conducted extensive research, collecting sources like books, instruments, and notebooks, and recording information on the men and women involved in a database. She maps out London's scientific communities neighborhood by neighborhood, showing where different fields like apothecaries and clockmakers were centered. Harkness provides dynamic analyses of how groups' practices developed over time, showing that many alchemists already understood knowledge relies on familiarity not authority. She argues 16th century London scientists saw themselves as part of information sharing
Dennis duckworth-swedenborg's-london-a-newchurchman's-guideFrancis Batt
This document provides an introduction and guide to places of significance to Emanuel Swedenborg and the New Church in London. It describes Swedenborg's visits to London in the 1700s and his appreciation for England's spirit of freedom. It then summarizes the history and locations of Swedenborg House, the headquarters of the Swedenborg Society, and provides addresses and transportation information. Finally, it briefly outlines sites related to Swedenborg's time in 18th century London.
Émilie du Châtelet was a French aristocrat and scientist in the 18th century who made significant contributions to physics and mathematics despite facing barriers as a woman. She educated herself, conducted experiments, translated and commented on Newton's Principia, discovered the relationship between energy and velocity, and published works on science. Her greatest achievement was completing a translation of and commentary on Newton's Principia just before her death at age 42 after working 18-hour days while pregnant with her fourth child. Her translation helped advance science in France.
The document summarizes the Voynich Manuscript, considered the most mysterious manuscript in the world. It describes the manuscript's unknown script and illustrations and provides a history of its ownership from the 1600s to present day. It also summarizes three failed attempts to decrypt the manuscript's text and script, but to date it remains unsolved.
- The document discusses a talk given by Andrew Prescott about Richard Carlile and his 1825 publication "A Manual of Freemasonry".
- Prescott recounts how Carlile was intrigued by Freemasonry advertisements as a young man in London and would later write the Manual, which aimed to expose Freemasonry rituals and symbols.
- As director of the new Centre for Research into Freemasonry at the University of Sheffield, Prescott hopes to encourage more academic study of Freemasonry's historical and social impacts through publications, lectures, and research projects.
Letters On England by Voltaire, Free eBookChuck Thompson
Letters On England by Voltaire, Free eBook. From the early days of the Age of Reason. Nihilistic views on religion and Christianity. All traced to satanic secret societies. Voltaire is vulgar as he attempts to defile the mind of the reader.
The document summarizes a lecture about Richard Carlile and his 1825 publication "A Manual of Freemasonry". It describes how Carlile was intrigued by Masonic advertisements as a young man and went on to become a radical political activist. His Manual of Freemasonry, which revealed Masonic rituals and symbols, was controversial but remained continuously in print. The lecture discusses Carlile's radical beliefs and how his Manual contributed to radical ideology.
Edward the Confessor allegedly promised the English kingdom to William, Duke of Normandy before his death in 1066. William invaded England and defeated the English army led by Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William then took control of England, installed his own nobles, and had the Domesday Book compiled to record land holdings.
Em swedenborg-the-principia-or-first-principles-of-natural-things-1734-1729-t...Francis Batt
This document provides an introduction and foreword to the English translation of Emanuel Swedenborg's work "The Principia".
1) The introduction discusses Swedenborg's background as a scientist in the 18th century and how his work "The Principia" represents the transition from old deductive philosophy to the new empirical scientific method.
2) It summarizes some of Swedenborg's key scientific ideas from "The Principia", including his conception of matter originating from infinitesimally small points and his early proposal of the nebular hypothesis of solar system formation.
3) The foreword praises the translation but warns readers that Swedenborg's reasoning and terminology are now outdated given the major
History hasn’t always been kind to women. They were denied education. Those that were ‘lucky’ enough to be informally educated couldn’t enter university seminars; those that were formally educated weren’t considered equal to their male peers.
The Trial of William Penn and William MeadChuck Thompson
More on the story of William Penn. America has been the battleground of the entire world for freedom. To this day it still remains the world's battleground for freedom. In these pages you will begin to understand how that is. Visit us for more incredible history at GVLN, Gloucester, Virginia Links and News.
Benjamin Franklin was born in colonial Boston in 1706 and launched himself as a printer after running away from home. He went on to hold many civic roles in Philadelphia, including postmaster, diplomat to France to secure alliances, and Founding Father. At Twyford, he began writing his famous autobiography. Franklin conducted influential experiments with electricity starting in 1746, drawing lightning from clouds and gaining recognition for his discoveries, though initially laughed at. He was awarded the Copley Medal in 1753 for his electrical work.
The document is an announcement for a National Science Day Quiz being presented by ANVESHA. It includes several multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank style quiz questions about famous scientists and their discoveries throughout history. Some of the scientists featured include Archimedes, James Clerk Maxwell, Marie Curie, John Dalton, Malpighi, and Raman.
Sir Humphry Davy was a Cornish chemist and inventor in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is best remembered for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals through electrolysis. He worked at the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol investigating medical uses of gases, where he discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide and experimented on himself. In 1801, Davy was hired by the Royal Institution in London, where he gave popular lectures on chemistry and electricity and continued his groundbreaking experiments.
Frank sewall swedenborgandthesapientiaangelica-london-1910Francis Batt
Swedenborg studied at Uppsala University from age 11, focusing on philosophy. In 1710, with his brother-in-law's help, he went abroad for 5 years to study science in England, Holland, France and Germany. Upon returning to Sweden, he worked on inventions and published works on mathematics and industrial arts. He served as an engineer and assessor for the Swedish government. In 1721, Swedenborg began publishing works on chemistry, mechanics, and astronomy. His major work, Principia, published from 1734, attempted to reduce natural phenomena to a geometric system and argued that all things originated from an infinite first natural point.
This document provides an overview and introduction to The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature, which is a collection of essays edited by David Wallace that offers a comprehensive account of literature composed in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland between the Norman Conquest and the reign of Henry VIII. It discusses the organization of the volume and its goals of providing both specialists and general readers with information on a vast range of medieval literary texts and the contexts of their production and reception.
This document provides an overview and introduction to The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature edited by David Wallace. It describes the book as the first full-scale history of medieval English literature published in nearly a century. The volume contains 33 essays divided into 5 sections covering literature from the Norman Conquest to the death of Henry VIII written in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. It provides information on a wide range of literary texts and their historical contexts.
This document profiles 12 innovators in science through brief biographies. It discusses their various scientific contributions and accomplishments, including Dmitri Mendeleev creating the periodic table, Rachel Carson's influence on environmental legislation through her book Silent Spring, Roald Hoffman developing a framework in chemistry, and Lonnie Johnson inventing the Super Soaker water gun. Other scientists mentioned are René Descartes, Paul Dirac, Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, James Clerk Maxwell, Dorothy Hodgkin, and Nikola Tesla.
Analysis of Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (General Prologue, The Knig...Kareen Jane Canillas
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet and author born around 1343 in London. He is considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and is best known for his work The Canterbury Tales. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of over 20 stories told by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury Cathedral. The stories range in tone from pious to vulgar and include genres such as romance, fabliaux, saints' lives, animal fables, and allegories. Chaucer drew from a variety of sources such as Boccaccio's Decameron and helped establish English as a legitimate literary language.
Deborah Harkness' new book The Jewel House examines the scientific community in 16th century London and argues that the collaborative efforts of urban scientists made London a melting pot where a new mathematical and experimental culture developed. Harkness conducted extensive research, collecting sources like books, instruments, and notebooks, and recording information on the men and women involved in a database. She maps out London's scientific communities neighborhood by neighborhood, showing where different fields like apothecaries and clockmakers were centered. Harkness provides dynamic analyses of how groups' practices developed over time, showing that many alchemists already understood knowledge relies on familiarity not authority. She argues 16th century London scientists saw themselves as part of information sharing
Dennis duckworth-swedenborg's-london-a-newchurchman's-guideFrancis Batt
This document provides an introduction and guide to places of significance to Emanuel Swedenborg and the New Church in London. It describes Swedenborg's visits to London in the 1700s and his appreciation for England's spirit of freedom. It then summarizes the history and locations of Swedenborg House, the headquarters of the Swedenborg Society, and provides addresses and transportation information. Finally, it briefly outlines sites related to Swedenborg's time in 18th century London.
Émilie du Châtelet was a French aristocrat and scientist in the 18th century who made significant contributions to physics and mathematics despite facing barriers as a woman. She educated herself, conducted experiments, translated and commented on Newton's Principia, discovered the relationship between energy and velocity, and published works on science. Her greatest achievement was completing a translation of and commentary on Newton's Principia just before her death at age 42 after working 18-hour days while pregnant with her fourth child. Her translation helped advance science in France.
The document summarizes the Voynich Manuscript, considered the most mysterious manuscript in the world. It describes the manuscript's unknown script and illustrations and provides a history of its ownership from the 1600s to present day. It also summarizes three failed attempts to decrypt the manuscript's text and script, but to date it remains unsolved.
- The document discusses a talk given by Andrew Prescott about Richard Carlile and his 1825 publication "A Manual of Freemasonry".
- Prescott recounts how Carlile was intrigued by Freemasonry advertisements as a young man in London and would later write the Manual, which aimed to expose Freemasonry rituals and symbols.
- As director of the new Centre for Research into Freemasonry at the University of Sheffield, Prescott hopes to encourage more academic study of Freemasonry's historical and social impacts through publications, lectures, and research projects.
Letters On England by Voltaire, Free eBookChuck Thompson
Letters On England by Voltaire, Free eBook. From the early days of the Age of Reason. Nihilistic views on religion and Christianity. All traced to satanic secret societies. Voltaire is vulgar as he attempts to defile the mind of the reader.
The document summarizes a lecture about Richard Carlile and his 1825 publication "A Manual of Freemasonry". It describes how Carlile was intrigued by Masonic advertisements as a young man and went on to become a radical political activist. His Manual of Freemasonry, which revealed Masonic rituals and symbols, was controversial but remained continuously in print. The lecture discusses Carlile's radical beliefs and how his Manual contributed to radical ideology.
Edward the Confessor allegedly promised the English kingdom to William, Duke of Normandy before his death in 1066. William invaded England and defeated the English army led by Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William then took control of England, installed his own nobles, and had the Domesday Book compiled to record land holdings.
Em swedenborg-the-principia-or-first-principles-of-natural-things-1734-1729-t...Francis Batt
This document provides an introduction and foreword to the English translation of Emanuel Swedenborg's work "The Principia".
1) The introduction discusses Swedenborg's background as a scientist in the 18th century and how his work "The Principia" represents the transition from old deductive philosophy to the new empirical scientific method.
2) It summarizes some of Swedenborg's key scientific ideas from "The Principia", including his conception of matter originating from infinitesimally small points and his early proposal of the nebular hypothesis of solar system formation.
3) The foreword praises the translation but warns readers that Swedenborg's reasoning and terminology are now outdated given the major
History hasn’t always been kind to women. They were denied education. Those that were ‘lucky’ enough to be informally educated couldn’t enter university seminars; those that were formally educated weren’t considered equal to their male peers.
The Trial of William Penn and William MeadChuck Thompson
More on the story of William Penn. America has been the battleground of the entire world for freedom. To this day it still remains the world's battleground for freedom. In these pages you will begin to understand how that is. Visit us for more incredible history at GVLN, Gloucester, Virginia Links and News.
Benjamin Franklin was born in colonial Boston in 1706 and launched himself as a printer after running away from home. He went on to hold many civic roles in Philadelphia, including postmaster, diplomat to France to secure alliances, and Founding Father. At Twyford, he began writing his famous autobiography. Franklin conducted influential experiments with electricity starting in 1746, drawing lightning from clouds and gaining recognition for his discoveries, though initially laughed at. He was awarded the Copley Medal in 1753 for his electrical work.
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was a highly distinguished British scientist who made important contributions to the fields of electricity, chemistry, and physics. Some of his key achievements included demonstrating the existence of hydrogen, demonstrating that water is a compound, and determining the density of the Earth. Although he published little himself, after his death Clerk Maxwell found many of Cavendish's unpublished manuscripts on electricity that contained experiments presaging later important work. Cavendish lived frugally and was a very shy man, but he generously supported other scientists through his large wealth and library. He made careful experiments with simple apparatus that yielded remarkable results.
1. Asam adalah zat yang dapat menghasilkan ion Hidrogen di dalam air dan memberikan rasa asam. Contoh asam yang ditemukan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari adalah asam sitrat pada jeruk, asam laktat pada susu, dan asam etanoat pada cuka.
2. Basa adalah zat yang dapat melepaskan ion hidroksida di dalam air. Contoh basa adalah NaOH.
3. Asam dan basa dapat bereaksi memb
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was a distinguished British scientist who made important contributions to the fields of electricity, chemistry, and physics. Some of his key achievements included demonstrating the existence of hydrogen, demonstrating that water is a compound, and determining the density of the Earth. He conducted pioneering electrical research and made accurate experiments with simple methods and apparatus. Cavendish published little of his work, but after his death Clerk Maxwell found many of Cavendish's manuscripts on electricity and was fascinated by his experimental work and character as a scientist. Cavendish lived frugally and accumulated a large fortune, though he believed it should return to his family rather than support scientific research. He was a private and shy man who conducted much of his scientific work from
Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) was a distinguished British scientist who made important contributions to the fields of electricity, chemistry, and physics. Some of his key achievements included demonstrating the existence of hydrogen, showing that water is a compound, and determining the density of the Earth. Although he published little himself, after his death Clerk Maxwell found many of Cavendish's unpublished manuscripts on electricity that contained experiments presaging later important work. Cavendish lived frugally and was a shy, reclusive man but made generous provisions for others through his large fortune. He carried out rigorous scientific investigations using simple methods and apparatus at his home in London.
1. Henry Cavendish (1731–1810)
As a fellow-scientist wrote, Henry Cavendish possessed a clarity of comprehension
and an acuteness of reasoning that have been the lot of very few
of his predecessors since the days of Newton. At home and abroad he was
regarded as the most distinguished British man of science of his day. Among
his many achievements are the demonstration of the existence of hydrogen
as a distinct substance, the demonstration that water is a compound and the
determination of the density of the earth. He was also one of the pioneers
of electrical research, presaging much of the work of Coulomb, Faraday and
Ohm. Clerk Maxwell, who edited some of his papers, was fascinated by
his character: ‘Cavendish cared more for investigation than publication. He
would undertake the most laborious researches in order to clear up a difficulty
which no-one but himself could appreciate, or was even aware of. And
we cannot doubt that the result of his enquiries, when successful, gave him
a certain degree of satisfaction. But it did not excite in him that desire to
communicate the discovery to others which, in the case of ordinary men of
science, generally ensures the publication of their results.’
Lord Charles Cavendish, the third son of the second Duke of
Devonshire, married Lady Anne Grey, the fourth daughter of Henry, Duke
of Kent. She was living in Nice, owing to frail health, when her first child Henry was born on
October 10, 1731. A second child, Frederick, was born
in England two years later, but their mother died shortly afterwards. Little
is known of the early years of the two boys, except that they attended
the Hackney Academy, a London school well thought of in its day for the
education of children of the upper classes in sound classical learning. Each
of the brothers went up to the University of Cambridge, matriculated as a
nobleman and resided there for four years, but left without taking a degree.
The college to which they belonged was St Peter’s, commonly known as
Peterhouse. Shortly after the younger brother had left Cambridge they made
the customary tour on the continent; apart from Paris, it is not known where
they went. Henry may well have studied mathematics and physics when he
was in Paris. The brothers did not have much to do with each other later in
life, although they remained on good terms.
After returning to England, Henry Cavendish went to live with his
father at a house in Great Marlborough Street, in the Soho district of London,
and apparently continued to do so until his father died. It was during this
period of almost thirty years that he carried out the fundamental electrical
research which so impressed Clerk Maxwell. He began his research career
by assisting his father, a gifted experimental physicist, who was a prominent
fellow of the Royal Society. Lord Charles made some valuable investigations
into heat, electricity and terrestrial magnetism. Franklin remarked that ‘It
were to be wished that this noble philosopher would communicate more of
his experiments to the world, as he makes many, and with great accuracy.’
Lord Charles was not a wealthy man but the financial allowance he
made to his eldest son was so small as to be described as niggardly by contemporaries.
It is not known just where the money came from, but, in 1783,
2. when his father died, or even before, Henry Cavendish became extremely
wealthy, apparently through a succession of legacies from relatives. However,
by this time he had become accustomed to living parsimoniously.
His large library of scientific works, housed in Bedford Square, was open
to any serious scholars. At one time it was in a somewhat neglected state,
so, having been told of a German scholar in straitened circumstances who
was capable of classifying the books in a satisfactory manner, Cavendish
arranged for him to act as his librarian; in return Cavendish gave him the
princely sum of £10 000, with which to purchase an annuity. He could be
remarkably generous when he felt so inclined.
Cavendish’s principal residence was a large villa at Clapham, then just
a village south of London. Most of its rooms were equipped with scientific
apparatus. It was at Clapham that he made his discovery of the composition of water and
measured by means of a torsion balance the density of the earth.
There was a ladder up a large tree in the garden, from the top of which he
made astronomical and meteorological observations. He was very much a
man of habit, invariably dining off leg of mutton and taking exactly the same
walk every day on his own. His pathologically shy and nervous disposition,
on which anyone who had any contact with Henry Cavendish was apt to
remark, has been attributed to his comparative poverty during the first forty
years of his life.
In appearance Cavendish was tall and thin, his face intelligent and
mild. His voice was hesitant and somewhat shrill. He retained the dress
of his youth – faded violet suit with high collar, frilled shirt-wrists and a
knocker-tailed periwig. Each year on a fixed day his tailor provided him with
a new suit that was a replica of the old one. When out-of-doors he was to
be seen wearing a three-cornered hat. He would often be accompanied by
Sir Charles Blagden, who for seven years acted as his assistant. As secretary
of the Royal Society, Blagden made frequent visits to the continent, usually
to Paris, where he was a friend of Berthollet and Laplace, amongst others, and
courted the lively widow of Antoine Lavoisier. When eventually Cavendish
parted with Blagden’s services he provided him with an annuity of £500 and
left him a legacy of £15 000 in his will.
Cavendish’s interests extended over a wide field of natural philosophy,
and every subject of investigation was subjected to a rigorous quantitative
examination. The results he obtained with simple methods and apparatus
were amazing. He was not only a highly skilled experimentalist but also
a capable mathematician. In common with others in England during this
period, he employed the methods of Newton, for example the fluxional
notation for differentiation. In chemistry he adhered to the old caloric
theory of heat, although the experiments he performed were helping to
undermine it. Like Newton, he had a deep dislike of controversy. As a result
he published remarkably little; for example only two research papers on
electricity, although, when Clerk Maxwell was editing Cavendish’s electrical
researches for publication, after his death, he found twenty packages full
of manuscripts on mathematical and experimental electricity.
3. The vast bulk of the Cavendish papers must have given Maxwell
pause, but, once he had begun, he found them fascinating. Cavendish had
quietly presaged many of the important results of the following century. He
had performed some extraordinarily accurate experiments with the crudest
of equipment, using a pair of pithballs, on strings, which repelled each other
to measure charge and his own body to measure resistance. In going through the papers Maxwell
found many of the experiments mentioned so original
that they seemed worth repeating, checking or improving. Cavendish
had done his experiments by making himself part of the electric circuit
and noticing how intense the electric shocks he felt under different circumstances
were. To check his conclusions he would summon his servant
Richard to replace him and then observe his servant’s reactions. Visitors
to his laboratory were often pressed into taking part instead of Richard;
Cavendish offended a visiting American physicist, who refused to act as a
guinea pig and went off saying ‘when an English man of science comes to
the United States we do not treat him like that’.
Although Franklin’s work had been published twenty years earlier,
Cavendish’s paper ‘An attempt to explain some of the principal phenomena
of electricity by means of an elastic fluid’ involves basically the same idea,
but gives it a mathematical treatment, quantitative rather than qualitative.
Both Cavendish and Franklin served on a committee of the Royal Society
to report on the best way of protecting buildings from lightning; they recommended
the installation of pointed conductors. However, others were in
favour of blunt ends, and George III agreed.Anotorious controversy erupted,
with political overtones, since pointed ends were thought somehow to be
unpatriotic.
Although Cavendish mainly lived as a recluse owing to a morbid
dislike of society, he nevertheless participated in the intellectual life of
London. He was a member of the Royal Society of Arts, a trustee of the
British Museum, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a manager of the
Royal Institution and a foreign associate of the Paris Academy. Like his
father, he was prominent in the Royal Society, to which he was elected
in 1760, served on the Council and some of its committees; and regularly
attended the Dining Club, to which he often brought guests. They were
advised that it was useless to try to engage him in conversation on any
non-scientific topic. The only known portrait of him, now in the British
Museum, was drawn surreptitiously at one of the club dinners.
Henry, later Lord, Brougham recalled seeing him at a Royal Society
Conversazione and hearing ‘the shrill cry he uttered as he shuffled quickly
from room to room, seeming to be annoyed if looked at, but sometimes
approaching to hear what was passing among others. His walk was quick
and uneasy. He probably uttered fewer words in the course of his life than
any man who lived to fourscore years, not at all excepting the monks of La
Trappe.’ Of the many stories told about his idiosyncrasies, one concerns a
distinguished foreign scientist who said that he wished to meet ‘one of the greatest intellectual
ornaments of this country, and one of the most profound
4. philosophers of all time’. Cavendish was so embarrassed that he was
reduced to total silence and escaped in his carriage at the first opportunity.
Cavendish made a number of journeys by carriage within Britain,
always in the summer, when conditions of travel were least difficult, and
generally accompanied by Blagden. Although usually their main purpose
was to visit other men of science, generally some scientific work was done
en route; for example they studied the variation of barometric pressure with
altitude, or collected specimens of minerals to be examined at leisure on
their return. They inspected many of the places where science was being
applied in industry, as the industrial revolution began to gather momentum.
Often the people he met were later guests of his at the Royal Society Dining
Club.
Cavendish died on February 24, 1810, at the age of seventy-eight,
and was buried in All Saints Church, Derby, now designated the cathedral,
where his famous ancestor Bess of Hardwick had built an elaborate tomb
for herself. Owing to his frugal life-style, he had accumulated a fortune of
over a million pounds, a huge sum in those days; he was one of the richest
men in England. When he died none of this wealth went directly to support
scientific research; he believed that it should return to the family from
which it came. However, many years later the University of Cambridge benefited
from the generosity of the Cavendish family through the endowment
of the Cavendish Professorship of Experimental Physics and the Cavendish
Laboratory.
Charles Augustin Coulomb (1736–1806)
The end of the Thirty Years War left France the most powerful nation in
Europe. Although the golden age of French science was yet to come, some
remarkable physicists were already distinguishing themselves before the
end of the ancien r ´egime. One of the first was Coulomb, the subject of our
next profile. He has been described as the complete physicist, rivalled in
the eighteenth century only by Henry Cavendish, combining experimental
skill, accuracy of measurement and great originality with mathematical
powers adequate to all his demands. He invented the torsion balance and
used it to show that the force between electrically charged particles is proportional
to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the
distance between them. This fundamental result is known as Coulomb’s
law; the unit of electrical charge is also named after him.