1635 – 1703
Perhaps one of the most ‘underrated’ scientists of the seventeenth century, Robert Hooke, an Englishman, experimented and made advances in a wide range of scientific areas. Yet because of this breadth of coverage, he seldom developed any of his concepts to their fullest extent. This explains why he rarely gained credit for them. Indeed, it is arguable that his role as a provider and facilitator to others is his most important legacy.
Boyle’s Assistant – The most obvious example of his contribution to others was the work he undertook with Robert Boyle at Oxford, where they met in 1656. Boyle, as the aristocrat, was clearly the dominant partner in the relationship, in social terms at least. Hooke, as his assistant, acted on Boyle’s instructions, yet many of his creations were worthy inventions in their own right. The most obvious example is the air pump that he devised in 1659, the most efficient vacuum creator of its time. It enabled Boyle to go on to make many of his discoveries.
Provider of Ideas – Moreover, Boyle was responsible, albeit indirectly, for keeping Hooke in his position as jack of all sciences, master of none. The aristocrat had been influential in having Hooke elevated to the position of Curator of Experiments for the Royal Society in 1662. While the prestige of the role pleased Hooke, the job requirement of showing ‘three or four considerable experiments’ to the Society at each of its weekly meetings was almost certainly the factor that ensured Hooke would never have the time to develop any of his findings fully.
A Source of Ideas – Another scientist to whom Hooke felt he had provided source material was the Dutch physicist Christian Huygens. Huygens is credited with creating the influential wave theory of light, which he published in 1690. Yet as early as 1672, Hooke had explained his discovery of diffraction (the bending of light rays) by suggesting that light might behave in a wave-like fashion.
In 1662, Robert Hooke became the first Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society. In 1670 he discovered the ‘law of elasticity’.
Isaac Newton vehemently argued against Hooke’s theory of light, beginning a bitter feud which would continue for the rest of Hooke’s life. Hooke also claimed to have discovered one of the most important theories credited to Newton, arguing that the latter had plagiarised his ideas from correspondence between the two during 1680. Certainly, Hooke’s letters suggested some notion of universal gravitation and hinted at an understanding of what later became Newton’s law of gravity. In spite of this, though, it is unquestionable that Newton’s mathematical calculations and endeavours in proving the law give him a much stronger claim.
Robert Hooke’s countless experiments did, however, result in some other discoveries solely credited to him. He was, for example, the first to describe the universal law that all matter will expand upon heating. He is credited with the law of elasticity, discovered in 1670. Also known as Hooke’s Law, it states that the strain, or change in size, placed upon a solid – when stretched – is directly proportional to the stress, or force, applied to it. Hooke was also the first person to use the word ‘cell’ in the scientific sense understood by us today, after observing the properties of cork under one of the powerful microscopes that he had developed. This word was used in his 1665 work Micrographia or Small Drawings, which also included many other advances such as Hooke’s theory of combustion, as well as other discoveries of the microscope. These included crystalline structure of snow, and studies of fossils which led to the proposition that they were the remains of once living creatures. He suggested that whole species had lived and died out long before man, centuries before Charles Darwin came to the same conclusion.
Hooke also made discoveries in astronomy, locating Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, and proposed that the huge planet rotated on its axis.
Further accreditations – Hooke’s inventions were greatly influential. He either invented or significantly improved the reflecting telescope, compound microscope, dial barometer, anemometer, hygrometer, balance spring (for use in watches), quadrant, universal joint and iris diaphragm (later used in cameras). He also showed impressive vision, foreseeing the development of the steam engine and the telegraph system.
Beyond this he was an accomplished architect who designed parts of London following the great fire of 1666.
Inset – In 1662, Robert Hooke became the first Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society. In 1670 he discovered the ‘law of elasticity’.
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