"Darwin was also experimenting with gases and asked Boulton to make him a flask with a twisted neck. ...he hoped to elucidate the properties of air... In modern jargon, Darwin is saying that the density, ρ, of the air should be proportional to the pressure, p, and inversely proportional to the temperature T. In symbols, this gives ρ = constant ✕ p/T, which is precisely the , now written p/ρ = RT, where R is constant and T is the absolute temperature. This was in 1763, 30 years before the law’s official discovery, and is a good example of his insight in physical science. On this occasion it is thrown off in a letter, not a formal paper"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Natural philosophersPhilosophers from EnglandBiologists from EnglandBotanists from EnglandPhysicians from England
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
, "The 1997 Wilkins Lecture: Erasmus Darwin, The Lunaticks and Evolution" (1998) This reference is to Darwin's July 1, 1763 Letter to Matthew Boulton.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin (12 December 1731 – 18 April 1802) was an English physician, natural philosopher, physiologist, inventor and poet. He was one of the founder members of the Lunar Society, a discussion group of pioneering industrialists and natural philosophers. He was a member of the Darwin — Wedgwood family, which most famously includes his grandson, Charles Darwin.
27 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Erasmus Darwin →
Related Quotes
"The wing'd Ichneumon for her embryon young Gores with sharp horn the caterpillar throng. The cruel larva mines its si…"
"The wing'd Ichneumon for her embryon young. Gores, with sharp horn, the catterpiller throng. The cruel larva mines it…"
"Such is the condition of organic nature! whose first law might be expressed in the words, "Eat or be Eaten!" and whic…"
"Arrest with rising jaw the tribes above; With monstrous gape sepulchral whales devour Shoals at a gulp, a million in …"
"Fell Oestrus buries in her rapid course Her countless brood in stag, or bull, or horse; Whose hungry larva eats its l…"
"The wolf, escorted by his milk-drawn dam, Unknown to mercy, tears the guiltless lamb; The towering eagle, darting fro…"
"On Dᴏᴠᴇ’s green brink the fair Tʀᴇᴍᴇʟʟᴀ stood, And view’d her playful image in the flood; To each rude rock, lone del…"
"Weak with nice sense, the chaste Mɪᴍᴏsᴀ stands, From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands; Oft as light clouds o…"
"Soon shall thy arm, Uɴᴄᴏɴǫᴜᴇʀ'ᴅ Sᴛᴇᴀᴍ! afar Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car; Or on wide-waving wings expa…"
"No radiant pearl which crested Fortune wears, No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's ears, Not the bright stars wh…"