scholarly journals XIV. On a determination of the mean density of the Earth and the gravitation constant by means of the common balance

1891 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 565-656 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Torsion Balance ◽  
Chemical Balance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Common Balance

In a paper printed in the Proceedings of the Royal Society,' No. 190, 1878 (vol. 28, pp. 2-35), I gave an account of some experiments undertaken in order to test the possibility of using the Common Balance in place of the Torsion Balance in the Cavendish Experiment. The success obtained seemed to justify the intention expressed in that paper to continue the work, using a large bullion balance, instead of the chemical balance with which the preliminary experiments were made. As I have had the honour to obtain grants from the Royal Society for the construction of the necessary apparatus, I have been able to carry out the experiment on the larger scale which appeared likely to render the method more satisfactory, and this paper contains an account of the results obtained.

II. On a determination of the mean density of the earth and the gravitation constant by means of the common balance

1892 ◽  
Vol 50 (302-307) ◽  
pp. 40-41
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Torsion Balance ◽  
Chemical Balance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Common Balance

In a paper printed in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ No. 190, 1878, an account was given of some experiments undertaken in order to test the possibility of using the common balance in place of the torsion balance in the Cavendish experiment. The success obtained seemed to justify the continuation of the work, and this paper contains an account of an experiment carried out with a large bullion balance, in place of the chemical balance used in the preliminary trials. The work has been carried out at the Mason College, Birmingham.

scholarly journals III. Account of the observations and computations made for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the deflection of the plumb-line at Arthur’s seat, and the mean specific gravity of the Earth; with an account of the observed and computed amount of the local attraction at Arthur’s seat and at the Royal Observatory at Edinburgh

1857 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 45-47
Keyword(s):  
Plumb Line ◽  
Great Pleasure ◽  
Ordnance Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Mean

Col. James begins by observing, that as the Royal Society has, from the very commencement of the Ordnance Survey of the United Kingdom, taken a deep interest in its progress, he has great pleasure in announcing to the Society that all the computations connected with the Primary Triangulation, the measurement of the Arcs of Meridians and the determination of the figure and dimensions of the earth are now completed, and that the account of all the operations and calculations which have been undertaken and executed is now in the press, and will shortly be in the hands of the public. In the progress of these operations it has been found, on determining the most probable spheroid from all the astronomical and geodetic amplitudes in Great Britain, that the plumb-line is considerably deflected at several of the principal Trigonometrical Stations, and at almost every station the cause of the deflection is apparent in the configuration of the surrounding country.

scholarly journals An experiment with the balance to find if change of temperature has any effect upon weight

1905 ◽  
Vol 76 (512) ◽  
pp. 445-457 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Secondary Effect ◽  
Boiling Liquid ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Exact Determination ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Very High ◽  
The Ideal

In all the experiments hitherto made to determine the gravitative attraction between two masses, the temperature has not varied more than a few degrees, and there are no results which would enable us to detect with certainty any dependence of attraction upon temperature even if such dependence exists. It is true, as Professor Hicks has pointed out, that Baily’s results for the Mean Density of the Earth, if arranged in the order of the temperature of the apparatus when they were obtained, show a fall in value as the temperature rises. But this is almost certainly some secondary effect, due to errors in the measurements of the apparatus, or to the seasons at which different attracted masses were used. The ideal experiment to find if temperature has an effect on gravitation would consist in one determination of the gravitative attraction between two masses at, say 15°C., and another determination at, say, the temperature of boiling liquid air. But the difficulties of exact determination at ordinary temperatures are not yet overcome, and at any very high or very low temperatures, they would be so much increased that the research seems at present hopeless.

scholarly journals On the meteorological observations made at the apartments of the Royal Society, during the year 1827, 1828, and 1829

1837 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 42-43
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Diurnal Variations ◽  
The Moon ◽  
French Academy ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The author first inquires into the annual and diurnal variations of the barometer and thermometer, for the determination of which he takes the mean of the observations in each month made at the Apartments of the Royal Society, during the years 1827,1828, and 1829; and also that deduced from Mr. Bouvard’s observations, published in the Memoirs of the French Academy of Sciences. From the table given it would appear that the annual variations are independent of the diurnal variations. A much greater number of observations than we possess at present, made frequently and at stated times each day, are requisite before any very satisfactory conclusion can be deduced as to the influence of the moon on the fluctuations of the barometer. The author, however, has attempted the inquiry, as far as the limited range of the present records will allow, by classifying all the observed heights, corresponding to a particular age of the moon, as defined by her transit taking place within a given half hour of the day; and thence deducing mean results, which are exhibited in tables. The results afforded by the observations at Somerset House differ widely from those obtained from corresponding observations made at the Paris Observatory. According to the former, the barometer is highest at new and full moons, and lowest at the quadratures the extent of the fluctuations being 0.08 of an inch: according to the lottery the controly is the esse, and the extent is only 0.05 of an inch.

The Correspondence of Charles Hutton

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Wardhaugh
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Military Academy ◽  
Mathematical Culture ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Professional Networks ◽  
The Earth ◽  
New Information ◽  
Explosive Force ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mathematics And Science

This book contains complete transcriptions, with notes, of the 133 surviving letters of Charles Hutton (1737–1823). The letters span the period 1770–1823 and are drawn from nearly thirty different archives. Most have not been published before. Hutton was one of the most prominent British mathematicians of his generation. He played roles at the Royal Society, the Royal Military Academy, the Board of Longitude, the ‘philomath’ network, and elsewhere. He worked on the explosive force of gunpowder and the mean density of the earth, winning the Royal Society’s Copley Medal in 1778; he was also at the focus of a celebrated row at the Royal Society in 1784 over the place of mathematics there. He is of particular historical interest because of the variety of roles he played in British mathematics, the dexterity with which he navigated, exploited, and shaped personal and professional networks in mathematics and science, and the length and public profile of his career. Hutton corresponded nationally and internationally, and his correspondence illustrates the overlapping, intersection, and interaction of the different networks in which Hutton moved. It therefore provides new information about how Georgian mathematics was structured socially and how mathematical careers worked in that period. It provides a rare and valuable view of a mathematical culture that would substantially cease to exist when British mathematics embraced continental methods from the early nineteenth century onwards.

IV. Magnetic observations made at Stonyhurst College Observatory, from April 1863 to March 1870

1871 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 69-75
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Continuous Series ◽  
Horizontal Force ◽  
Single Observation ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Magnetic Elements ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Residual Errors

Results of Seven Years' Observations of the Pip and Horizontal Force . In a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1863, the President of the Royal Society enters into a discussion of a six years’ series of the Kew Magnetic Observations, with the view of ascertaining whether the sun’s position with reference to the earth really produces a sensible semiannual inequality in the terrestrial magnetic elements. The probability of the existence of such a disturbing cause, founded on a comparison of the monthly determinations of the Dip and Horizontal Force taken at Hobarton and at Toronto, was made much more evident by Sir Edward Sabine’s discussion of the Kew observations; and it was from a desire of bringing more data to bear upon this important question that the reduction of the seven years’ observations, just completed at this observatory, has been undertaken. With this object in view, it was considered of great importance to adhere closely to the plan laid down by Sir Edward Sabine, and to present the results, for the sake of comparison, in three Tables. The first contains the mean monthly determinations of the elements, with their deduced mean values and secular variation, the second presents a view of the semiannual inequality, and the third gives the residual errors and the consequent most probable errors of any single observation and of the deduced mean values of the elements. Magnetic observations were first taken at Stonyhurst in 1858, but the continuous, series of monthly determinations of the Dip, Declination, and Intensity were only commencedin March 1863. The same instruments, i. e . a dip-circle by Barrow and a Jones unifilar, have been used throughout the whole seven years. These instruments were both tested at Kew before being sent to this observatory, and the dip-circle was again examined there last January with most satisfactory results. The constants of the vibration-magnet were determined by Mr. W else, and are given in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for February 1865. In calculating the value of the Horizontal Force, it has never been found necessary to apply any correction for the arc of vibration, which has always been small, nor for the Frodsham chronometer, whose rate has never exceeded 2 s per day.

scholarly journals IV. India’s contribution to geodesy

1895 ◽  
Vol 58 (347-352) ◽  
pp. 157-159
Keyword(s):  
The Earth ◽  
Figure Of The Earth ◽  
The Mean

This paper gives a summary of the operations which have been completed up to date in India to furnish the necessary data of the lengths and the amplitudes of meridional and longitudinal arcs for a mathematical determination of the mean figure of the earth. It shows that geodetic investigation has already greatly influenced the operations of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, from its very commencement at the beginning of the present century. It describes the principal triangulation which has been laid out over the whole face of the country, mostly in meridional and longitudinal chains, and shows how it has been finally reduced and made consistent throughout by processes of calculation which are fully set forth in the published accounts of the operations.

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