Robert hooke He was a great scientist who contributed numerous ideas and advances to science. He was also a natural philosopher. He was a professor of geometry and a surveyor in the city of London, England. He was recognized for his great contributions in physics, microscopy, biology and architecture. He invented instruments such as the alcohol thermometer, hygrometer, anemometer and other instruments, which constitute an important legacy to science and humanity.
In this post we will travel to the past to learn about the biography and feats that Robert Hooke did throughout his life. Do you want to know the importance of this scientist for the world of science? Here we explain everything to you in detail 🙂
Life and death of Robert Hooke
He was born on July 18, 1635. He was the last of four siblings, two boys and two girls. It is said that he had a very lonely and sad childhood, he suffered from frequent headaches and stomach pains, which prevented him from playing normally with children his age. That loneliness as a child made him play with great inventiveness and imagination. He made sundials, watermills, boats capable of firing bullets, he took apart a brass clock and rebuilt it in wood, working perfectly.
During his youth Hooke was part of the Choir of the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Oxford (Christ Church College). This time was the one that forged Hooke in his passion for science. He was quite interested in various conservation works carried out, since he considered that they were threatened by the protectorate.
Meetings of high scientific, philosophical, and intellectual importance were held at Westminster School, so Robert attended many of them. While classmates engaged in playful activities, Hooke focused on making a living. He started out earning some money as a chemical anatomy assistant. Later he was a laboratory assistant. At that time, 1658, the construction of an air pump or "machina boyleana" was carried out, based on that of Ralph Greatorex, whom Hooke considered "Too gross for any great task".
He had a great ability for mathematics. After his numerous works his efficiency was recognized and he was recommended for the first position of manager of the Royal Society of London. This position required being a great experimental and professional scientist. Robert Hooke devoted full time to his projects.
Finally passed away on March 3, 1703 in the city of London. The Royal Society of London paid him a great tribute for all the feats that we will see below.
Hooke spent part of his time working with Boyle and Boyle proposed a mission to him which consisted of designing and building a pump that was capable of compressing air to produce a vacuum. They spent years studying the science of gases until they got it. His first discovery was the air pump.
With this pump the elasticity of the air and the effects they have were experienced many times. Thanks to this pump, the formula of the Gas Law. In this law it can be verified how the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure it has.
Another of his discoveries was capillarity. He was dealing with the leakage of water and other fluids through the thin glass tubes. In these experiments it was discovered that the height at which the water reaches is related to the diameter of the tube. This is currently referred to as capillarity.
This discovery was published in great detail in his work "Micrography." Thanks to these works he was able to have the position of Curator in the Royal Society of London.
Cells and cell theory
Thanks to the microscope, Hooke discovered that the cork sheet had small polyhedral cavities like a honeycomb. Each cavity called it a cell. What he did not know was the importance that these cells would have in the constitution of living beings.
And it is that Robert was watching dead plant cells in a polygonal shape. Years later, the tissue of living beings would be discovered thanks to its observation under the microscope.
Another discovery was thanks to the knowledge he had about the organization of cells. In the XNUMXth century, with the knowledge contributed by Robert Hooke, the postulates of the cell theory could be carried out:
- All living things are made up of cells and their products.
- Cells are the units of structure and function.
- All cells come from pre-existing cells. This was added in 1858 by Virchow.
At the end of this century, the following studies have shown that cells can give us both the cause and origin of many diseases. This means that if a person is sick, it is because they have cells inside that are sick.
As well was responsible for discovering the planet Uranus. To do this, he was observing comets and dedicated himself to formulating ideas about gravitation. The instruments needed to measure the movements of the sun and stars were made by him. All this gave a great advance to science and the observation of outer space.
Theory of planetary motion
Not only did he discover the planet Uranus but he created the Theory of Planetary Motion. He was able to formulate it from a mechanics problem. He expressed the principles of universal attraction, among the strongest postulates was the one that reads: all bodies move in a straight line, unless they are deflected by some force, this will make them move, either in the form of a circle, ellipse or parable.
He stated that all bodies have their own force of gravity at their axis or center and that they are in turn affected by the gravity of nearby celestial bodies. The closer we are to other celestial bodies, the more this force of attraction affects us. Also, tried to check that the Earth moved in an ellipse around the Sun.
As you can see, Robert Hooke made so many advances to science and his name cannot be forgotten.