1726 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1726 in science
and technology
involved some significant events.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events.
Technology
- For clocks, the gridiron pendulumGridiron pendulumThe gridiron pendulum was an improved clock pendulum invented by British clockmaker John Harrison around 1726. It didn't change its effective length with temperature, so its period of swing stayed constant with changes in ambient temperature...
is developed by John HarrisonJohn HarrisonJohn Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
, as a pendulumPendulumA pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...
that compensates for temperature errors: a grid of alternating brassBrassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
and steel rods is arranged so that the heat is dissipated.
Births
- June 3 - James HuttonJames HuttonJames Hutton was a Scottish physician, geologist, naturalist, chemical manufacturer and experimental agriculturalist. He is considered the father of modern geology...
, ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
(d. 17971797 in scienceThe year 1797 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Births:* January 14 - Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer * April 29 - George Don, Scottish botanist * November 14 - Charles Lyell, Scottish geologist...
) - Thomas MelvillThomas MelvillThomas Melvill was a Scottish natural philosopher, who was active in the fields of spectroscopy and astronomy.The son of Helen Whytt and the Rev Andrew Melville, minister of Monimail , Thomas was a student at Glasgow University...
, Scottish natural philosopherNatural philosophyNatural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
(d. 17531753 in scienceThe year 1753 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Ruđer Bošković's De lunae atmosphaera demonstrates the lack of atmosphere on the Moon.-Botany:...
)
Deaths
- January 25 - Guillaume DelisleGuillaume DelisleGuillaume Delisle was a French cartographer who lived in Paris.His father, Claude Delisle studied law and then later settled in Paris as private teacher in geography and history, and afterwards filled the office of royal censor...
, FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
scientistScientistA scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
, one of the founders of modern geographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
(b. 16751675 in scienceThe year 1675 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* March 4 - John Flamsteed appointed as "astronomical observator", in effect, the first Astronomer Royal of England.* Giovanni Cassini discovers Saturn's Cassini Division....
)