The English naturalist Robert Hooke was one of the most brilliant minds of the seventeenth century. He worked on a variety of hypotheses and instruments, improved the structure of the microscope and was the first to establish the features of the cellular structure of tissues.
Childhood of a great scientist
The future physicist, botanist, inventor and astronomer was born on July 18, 1635 in the city of Freshwater, which is located on the Isle of Wight. His father was pastor at All Saints Church. Relatives for a long time feared for the he alth of the baby, as he was very weak and frail, but Robert survived. In 1648, after the death of his father, Robert Hooke moved to London and became an apprentice to an artist named Peter Lely. Having already become a famous scientist, he disapprovingly recalled his childhood, but the skill of the illustrations with which the physicist accompanied his works allows us to say that the time in the art workshop was not wasted in vain. At fourteen, the boy became a student at Bashby's Westminster School, from which he graduated in 1653. Like any scientist, Robert Hooke learned Latin, which was the main language of scientific communication of those times. In addition, he spoke Hebrew and Greek, knew how to playon the organ and instantly mastered complex textbooks.
Beginning of scientific activity
After high school, Robert Hooke moved to Oxford to become a student at Christ Church College. In addition, he was a chorister in the church, as well as an assistant and close collaborator of Boyle. In the same years, he met with the participants of the "Invisible College" of Oxford, the creators of the scientific and organizational society, which played a significant role in Hooke's life. During this period, the physicist invented the air pump, created a treatise on the movement of fluid in capillaries. In addition, Robert Hooke, whose discoveries made it possible to create a spring mechanism for pocket watches, had a small dispute with Huygens, who also worked on such devices. In 1662, the scientist was awarded a master of arts degree from Oxford University, the Royal Society, at that time only being formed, appointed him curator of experiments. In 1663, Robert Hooke created a charter for this scientific community, was admitted to its membership, and in 1677 became its secretary.
London Professor
Even a brief biography of Robert Hooke cannot do without mentioning that in 1664, when the plague raged in England, the physicist did not leave London. Shortly before that, he was appointed professor at Gresham College and lived in an apartment in his building. In addition, Hooke did not stop the activities of the curator of experiments of the Royal Society. It was a difficult position for which no remuneration was expected. For a not too we althy scientist, the preparation of newexperiments were associated with significant costs. Nevertheless, this work helped his personal research and established the physicist as a respected honorary consultant. In addition, Robert's breadth of interests impressed other members of the community. The information on Robert Hooke in History of the Royal Society describes his work as a curator and describes his amazing experiments with vacuum, artillery powder, thermal expansion of glass, as well as work on the microscope, iris diaphragm and all kinds of meteorological instruments.
Creating "Micrography"
In 1665 the most important work of the scientist was published. A treatise called "Micrography" set out in detail the methods of using a microscope for a variety of scientific studies. It described sixty different experiments with parts of plants, insects and animals. It was Robert Hooke who discovered the cellular structure of organisms. Biology was not his main scientific interest, so the result of the research is all the more surprising. In addition, the material devoted to
fossils makes Hooke also the founder of paleontology. The excellent quality of the illustrations and engravings made the Micrographia an invaluable book. Despite the fact that the scientist is almost forgotten at the moment, his breakthrough in the study of cells is of tremendous importance. It's really worth knowing about this discovery.
Cage opening
Robert Hooke's improved microscope was the subject of constant interest of the scientist. He looked through itmany items. Once, as an object for study, he came across a bottle cap. The cut made with a sharp knife impressed the scientist with its complex and regular structure. The cells that made up the cork material reminded Hooke of a honeycomb. Since the cut was of vegetable origin, further research was carried out on the stems and branches of other plants. On the thin section of the elder, Robert again saw the cellular surface. These cells, separated from each other by the thinnest partitions, were called cells by the physicist. He studied their dimensions and the influence of their presence on the property of the material consisting of them. Thus began the history of the study of plant cells. Further work on them was given to another member of the Royal Society, Nehemiah Grew, who was more passionate about biology than Robert Hooke. The history of the discovery of cells was developed thanks to his efforts. Assiduous and attentive, he devoted his whole life to the study of plants and in many ways influenced the further course of science in this area. His main treatise on the subject was "The Anatomy of Plants, Outlining the Philosophical History of the Plant World, and Several Other Papers Delivered Before the Royal Society." Meanwhile, physicist Robert Hooke has already begun other experiments.
Further activities
Robert Hooke, whose biography has already been supplemented by the publication of Micrography, did not stop there. He developed theories about light, gravity and the structure of matter, invented a computer for complex arithmetic operations and improvedinstrument for studying the earth's magnetic field. In some of his views, the scientist was too harsh.
For example, in 1674 he had a dispute with Hevelius related to the peculiarities of using microscopes. In the second half of the 1670s, works were written on the theory of elasticity, which became the basis for the famous Hooke's law. He said that the increase in length relative to the original is proportional to the magnitude of the force causing elongation, inversely proportional to the size of the section of the object and is associated with the material from which it is made.
Communication with Newton
In 1672, Isaac Newton became a member of the Royal Society, in which Robert Hooke had long been a member. The history of the discovery of cells and his other experiments strengthened the authority of the physicist in the eyes of others, but his communication with Newton was tense for many years. Their scientific disputes concerned both private issues, for example, the shape of the curve that a falling body describes, and fundamental ideas, including the nature of light. Newton believed that light consists of a stream of special particles, which he called light corpuscles. Robert Hooke, whose biography at that time included works on the wave nature of light, suggested that it consists of vibrational movements of a transparent medium. Thus arose a discussion between corpuscular and wave theory. The dispute became so intense that Newton decided not to write about optics until after Hooke's death.
Plagiarism or simultaneous opening?
In 1686, another discussion flared up between Newton and Hooke, thistimes related to the law of universal gravitation. Probably, Hooke independently came to understand the proportional relationship between the force of attraction and the square of the distance between bodies, which allowed him to accuse the author of the "Beginnings" of plagiarism. The physicist wrote a letter to the Royal Society on this subject. Nevertheless, Newton described this issue in more detail, correctly defined the law of interaction and formulated the most important laws of mechanics. On their basis, he explained the movement of the planets, the ebbs and flows, and made many other important discoveries. Hooke was too overburdened with work to carefully deal with this particular area. However, one cannot fail to note his deep interest in the problem of gravity and a series of experiments devoted to it, which has been carried out since 1671.
Sunset activity
In the last years of his life, Robert Hooke, whose biography is full of important discoveries in many areas, was as active as before. He studied the structure of muscles, trying to create their mechanical models, received a doctorate in medicine, was interested in amber, lectured, including on the causes of earthquakes. Thus, the scope of the scientist’s interests only expanded over the years, which means that the workload also grew. After a terrible fire, most of London was destroyed. The rebuilding of the city was led by Christopher Wren, an eminent English architect and close friend of Hooke. Helping him, Hooke worked hard for about four years, paying amazing attention to scientific activities, and leaving only a couple of hours for sleep and rest.
Contribution to London's recovery
Robert Hooke had the most responsible role. Together with Christopher Wren, he redesigned the area around the London Stock Exchange. With the assistance of Hugh May and Roger Pratt, he made a notable contribution to the architecture of London. Among other things, Hooke and Ren created a project for a monument to the victims of a terrible fire. A careful design was developed, and in 1677 the world saw an impressive Doric column, for the creation of which Portland stone was used. Its top was crowned with a gilded ball with tongues of fire. Initially, Christopher Wren wanted to portray Charles II there, to which he objected that he did not take part in the origin of the fire. The height of the monument is 61 meters and 57 centimeters, exactly as much from the column to the place where the fire started. Hooke planned to use the monument as a science laboratory for a zenith telescope and pendulum work, but the vibrations created by traffic prevented such work.
Departure
The work to restore London improved the scientist's financial situation, but had a negative impact on his he alth. The intense regime of the day resulted in illnesses and a severe deterioration in vision. The latest invention of the great scientist was the marine barometer. The Royal Society learned about him in February 1701 from the lips of Edmond Halley, who was a close friend of Hooke. Physicist, biologist and naturalist Robert Hooke died on March 3, 1703 in his apartment at Gresham College. One of the most gifted people of those times, he was undeservedly forgotten with the passage of years.
Reasons for forgetting
Hooke's writings on the nature of light and the laws of gravity served as the basis for the work of Isaac Newton, but the most serious disagreements between the two scientists worsened their relationship. A kind of confrontation began. So, from his "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" Newton removed all references to the works of Hooke. In addition, he tried to downplay his contributions to science. As President of the Royal Society, Newton stopped using Hooke's many handcrafted instruments, consigned his work to oblivion, and removed his portrait. The glory of the most talented physicist faded. Nevertheless, it is about him that the famous words of Newton are written. In one of his letters, he says that he saw further only because he stood on the shoulders of giants. Indeed, Robert Hooke deserves such a name, because he was the greatest scientist, inventor, naturalist, astronomer and architect of his time.
Interesting facts about the scientist
Hook's doctors and relatives feared that he would die in infancy. Some assured him that he would not live past his twenties. Nevertheless, the physicist lived for 68 years, which by the standards of the seventeenth century can be called a very long period. The name "cell", which he proposed for the elementary units of a living organism, is due to the fact that such particles reminded Guku of monks' cells. One of the experiments related to breathing almost ended in failure for the scientist. He placed himself in a special hermetic apparatus from which air was pumped out, and as a result he partially lost his hearing. In addition to the monument erected inIn collaboration with Wren, buildings such as the Greenwich Observatory and St. Paul's Cathedral were created according to Hooke's designs. You can see these works of the great physicist even now.
