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 The first page of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, which debuted in 1665. Robert Boyle contributed papers on thermodynamics and the appearance of a very strange calf to the first volume of the journal.
The archive contains classic scientific papers from the likes of Isaac
Newton, Edmond Halley, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, and Francis
Crick. At the same time, the journals provide a direct glimpse into the
fascinating history of science; particularly Philosophical Transactions,
which in earliest years published papers on a wide variety of subjects
and blurred the distinction between science and everyday reportage.
In the first 1665 issue of Philosophical Transactions, Robert Boyle describes the experiments made into the nature of ‘cold’ in a paper titled “The Experimental History of Cold” (Phil Trans 1
8). Later in the same issue, Boyle also relates an story, this time
from a butcher in Hampshire who had come across a deformed calf, titled
“An account of a very odd monstrous calf”.
Another report published in 1681 describes the experiences of
sailors off the north-east coast of North America. They discovered that
after their ship was struck by and heavily damaged by lightning their
compasses underwent a complete change in polarity (Phil Trans 14
520). “The North point was turned clear South…As for the other
[compass] the North point stood West…The seamen were at first puzzled,”
wrote Edward Lad, master of the Abermarle.
In the midst of such miscellany, a letter from a Professor of the
Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, made its way into
publication in 1671. Representing his earliest contribution to the
history of knowledge, Isaac Newton describes the invention of a
reflecting telescope in a letter containing his “New Theory about Light
and Colors” (Phil Trans 6 3075).
Those interested in the history of science are hoping that more
historical publications are made available. “The question for
historians at present is firstly, how much of these and other resources
will be made freely available over a longer period of time, and
secondly, how can we continue to build up complementary resources by
digitizing manuscripts and information about instruments,” said Iliffe.
Until now, the Royal Society’s online collection only extended back
to 1997. The new archive makes every journal published by the Royal
Society accessible vian the Internet.
Source: PhysicsWeb
Related Links:
The Royal Society Library
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