All Topics  
Micrographia

 
Micrographia

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Micrographia
 
 
  Topics Micrographia Topic Home

Micrographia is a historical book by Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England natural philosopher and polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work....
, detailing the then twenty-eight year-old Hooke's observations through various lenses
Lens (optics)

A lens is an optics device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmittance and refraction light, converging or diverging the beam....
. Published in September 1665, it was an immediate best-seller. e most famously describes a fly
Fly

True flies are insects of the Order Diptera , possessing a single pair of insect wing on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax....
's eye and a plant cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 (where he coined that term because plant cells, which are walled, reminded him of a monk's quarters).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Micrographia'
Start a new discussion about 'Micrographia'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Micrographia is a historical book by Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England natural philosopher and polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work....
, detailing the then twenty-eight year-old Hooke's observations through various lenses
Lens (optics)

A lens is an optics device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmittance and refraction light, converging or diverging the beam....
. Published in September 1665, it was an immediate best-seller.
Samuel Pepys

Observations

Hooke most famously describes a fly
Fly

True flies are insects of the Order Diptera , possessing a single pair of insect wing on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax....
's eye and a plant cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 (where he coined that term because plant cells, which are walled, reminded him of a monk's quarters). Known for its spectacular copperplate engravings of the miniature world, particularly its fold-out plates of insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, the text itself reinforces the tremendous power of the new microscope
Microscope

A microscope is an Laboratory equipment for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy....
. The plates of insects fold out to be larger than the large folio
Book size

The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers.However, in bookbinding, printing, and publishing, a series of terms are used to indicate the approximate size of a book....
 itself, the engraving of the louse
Louse

Lice , , also known as fly babies, are an order of over 3,000 species of wingless insects; three of which are classified as human disease agents....
 in particular folding out to four times the size of the book. Although the book is best known for demonstrating the power of the microscope, Micrographia also describes distant planetary bodies
Planet

A planet , as 2006 definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared the neighbourhood of planetesimals....
, the wave theory of light, the organic origin of fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
s, and various other philosophical and scientific interests of its author.

Publication

Published under the aegis of The Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
, the popularity of the book helped further the society's image and mission of being "the" scientifically progressive organization of London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
. Micrographia also focused attention on the miniature world, capturing the public's imagination in a radically new way. This impact is illustrated by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English people Navy Board and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under James II of England....
' reaction upon completing the tome: "the most ingenious book that I ever read in my life."

Image:HookeFlea01.jpg|Hooke
Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England natural philosopher and polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work....
's drawing of a flea
Flea

Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood....
 Image:Hooke-microscope.png|Hooke
Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England natural philosopher and polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work....
's microscope. Image:RobertHookeMicrographia1665.jpg|Hooke was the first to apply the word "cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
" to biological objects: Cork
Cork (material)

Cork material is a prime-subset of generic Cork cambium, harvested for commercial use primarily from the Cork Oak tree, Quercus suber, with Portugal producing 50% of cork worldwide....
.

Bibliography


  • Robert Hooke. "Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses". London: J. Martyn and J. Allestry, 1665. (first edition).


External links