‘Newtonianism’ and the Theory of the Magnet

Brunet , L'introduction des théories de Newton en France au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1931).

Cohen I. B. , Franklin and Newton (Philadelphia, 1956).

Kuhn T. S. , The structure of scientific revolutions (Chicago, 1962; 2nd ed. 1970).

Brunet , Les physiciens hollandais et la méthode expérimentale en France au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1926).

Nollet J. A. , Leçons de physique expérimentale, tome i (Paris, 1743), 207, 260–1.

Franklin B. , The autobiography, and selections from his other writings, ed. Schneider H. W. (New York, 1952), 153.

Home R. W. , “Electricity in France in the post-Franklin era”, Actes du XIVe Congrès international d'histoire des sciences, Tokyo-Kyoto, 1974 (Tokyo, 1974–5), ii, 269–72.

Cf. Hankins Thomas L. , Jean d'Alembert: Science and the Enlightenment (Oxford, 1970), 4; and Heimann P. M. , “Newtonian natural philosophy and the scientific revolution”, History of science, xi (1973), 1–7.

Cohen , Franklin and Newton, 179–82; Schofield Robert E. , Mechanism and materialism: British natural philosophy in an Age of Reason (Princeton, N.J., 1970), passim; Thackray Arnold , Atoms and powers: An essay on Newtonian matter-theory and the development of chemistry (Cambridge, Mass., 1970), chs ii, iii.

Descartes , Principia philosophiae (1644), pt IV, §§ 133–83; in his Oeuvres, ed. Adam C. and Tannery P. (Paris, 1897–1913), viii, 275–311. I have also used the French edition (1647), published in Oeuvres, vol. ix.

Newton , Opticks, or a treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections & colours of light (New York, 1952; based on the 4th ed., London, 1730), 375–6.

Newton , Mathematical principles of natural philosophy, trans. Motte Andrew , rev. Florian Cajori (Berkeley/Los Angeles, 1934), 4.

ibid.

ibid., 25–26.

ibid., 302.

ibid., 415.

Newton , Opticks, 373–4.

E.g., Newton , Mathematical principles , 414. Also The correspondence of Isaac Newton, ed. Turnbull H. W. (Cambridge, 1959-), ii, 341–2; 360–2.

Newton , Opticks, 401.

a Cambridge University Library, Add MS. 3974, ff. 1–3. I am grateful to Dr D. T. Whiteside for advice concerning the dating of this item.

Hall A. R. Hall M. B. , Unpublished scientific papers of Isaac Newton (Cambridge, 1962), 220 (English trans., p. 228). R. S. Westfall argues (Force in Newton's physics (London, 1971), 409–10) that this document ought to be given a somewhat later dating, namely 1679, than that provided by the Halls. Joan L. Hawes has cited the passage quoted to support her view, similar so far as magnetism is concerned to that developed in this paper, that “when Newton writes of the forces of magnetism and electricity, he envisages a kind of spirit or effluvium which emanates from the electric or magnetic body, performs its actions, and returns to the body” ( Hawes , “Newton and the ‘Electrical Attraction Unexcited’”, Annals of science, xxiv (1968), 121–30, p. 122).

Cohen I. B. , ed., Isaac Newton's papers and letters on natural philosophy (Cambridge, 1958), 180, 183.

Cambridge University Library, Add. MS. 3970.3, f. 473–4. I am indebted for this reference to Professor Westfall, who summarizes Newton's account in his Force in Newton's physics (ref. 20), 332.

Newton , Correspondence (ref. 18), iii, 335 (English trans., p. 338). Gregory himself seems to have been less certain than Newton at this point: cf. his “Notae in Newtoni Principia”, Royal Society of London, MS. 210, f.79 (insert).

Newton , Opticks (1st ed., 1704), book II, 69. Cf. reprint ed. (New York, 1952), 267.

Newton , Opticks (reprint ed.), 353.

Guerlac Henry , “Newton's optical aether: His draft of a proposed addition to his Opticks”, Notes and records of the Royal Society of London, xxii (1967), 45–57; McGuire J. E. , “Force, active principles, and Newton's invisible realm”, Ambix, xv (1968), 154–208; Westfall , Force in Newton's physics (ref. 20), ch. VI (esp. 363–77, 391–5).

Newton , Mathematical principles, 547. Magnetism is included in a similar list drawn up by Newton on another occasion (Cambridge University Library, Add. MS. 3970, f. 241; quoted by Hawes Joan L. , “Newton's two electricities”, Annals of science, xxvii (1971), 95–103, p. 97).

Cambridge University Library, Add. MS. 3970.3, f. 338r-338v; quoted by Cohen I. Bernard , “Hypotheses in Newton's philosophy”, Physics, viii (1966), 163–83, pp. 179–80. Dr Whiteside kindly drew my attention to the significance of this document.

Rohault's Traité was first published in 1671. The first edition of Clarke's Latin translation appeared in 1697, and his notes were steadily expanded in succeeding editions. I have used the English translation of 1723, Rohault's system of natural philosophy, illustrated with Dr. Samuel Clarke's notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy (London, 1723; reprinted New York, 1969). On Clarke's notes, see Hoskin M. A. , “‘Mining All Within’: Clarke's notes to Rohault's Traité de physique”, The Thomist, xxiv (1962), 353–63.

Koyré A. and Cohen I. B. , “Newton and the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence”, Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences, xv (1962), 63–126.

Rohault's system (ref. 29), i, 54–55.

ibid., ii, 163–87.

Keill , Introduction to natural philosophy (London, 1745), 67. I have used the 1745 edition of this work, but Schofield , Mechanism and materialism (ref. 9), 29, indicates that a similar passage appears in the earlier edition. The original Latin version was published in 1702; I have not consulted later editions of this to see whether the passage in question was incorporated in them.

Bowles Geoffrey , “John Harris and the powers of matter”, Ambix, xxii (1975), 21–38.

Harris , Lexicon technicum: Or, an universal English dictionary of arts and sciences (London, 1704), art. “Magnet”. Cf. vol. ii (London, 1710), art. “Magnetism”.

Halley , “An account of the late surprizing appearance of the lights seen in the air … with an attempt to explain the principal phaenomena thereof”, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London, xxix (1716), 406–28. See also Briggs J. Morton Jr , “Aurora and Enlightenment: Eighteenth-century explanations of the aurora borealis”, Isis, lviii (1967), 491–503, p. 492.

Savery , “Magnetical observations and experiments”, Philosophical transactions, xxxvi (1729–30), 295–340.

Desaguliers , “An account of some magnetical experiments”, Philosophical transactions, xl (1737–8), 385–7. Cf. Fay Du , Histoire de l'Académie royale des Sciences [de Paris], avec les mémoires …, 1728, Mém. 355–69; 1730, Mém. 142–57; 1731, Mém. 417–32.

Desaguliers , Physico-mechanical lectures: Or, an account of what is explain'd and demonstrated in the course of mechanical and experimental philosophy (London, 1717); and also his Course of experimental philosophy (2 vols, London, 1734–44).

Martin , Philosophia Britannica: Or, a new and comprehensive system of the Newtonian philosophy … (Reading, 1747); 2nd ed. (London, 1759), i, 42–44.

Royal Society of London; Journal Book Copy, xix, 388.

ibid., 363. Extracts from the Journal Book are quoted by permission of the Society.

Knight Gowin , “Some further experiments relating to the general phenomena of magnetism”, Philosophical transactions, xliv (1746–7), 665–72. Knight elaborated his ideas, and incorporated them into an all-inclusive theory of matter, in his well known Attempt to demonstrate that all the phaenomena in nature may be explained by two simple active principles, attraction and repulsion …, published a few months later (London, 1748). Schofield has discussed Knight's views about magnetism in his Mechanism and materialism (ref. 9), 175–6, 179–81, but has failed to perceive either their Cartesian origins or the fact that such ideas were widely current in Knight's day.

Chambers , Cyclopaedia: Or, an universal dictionary of arts and sciences (5th ed., London, 1741–3), art. “Magnetism”.

Whiston , The longitude and latitude found by the inclinatory or dipping needle … (London, 1721), 11.

Musschenbroek , “De viribus magneticis”, Philosophical transactions, xxxiii (1724–5), 370–8; idem, Dissertatio physica experimentalis de magnete (Leiden, 1729), 4–5, 57–67; idem, Epitome elementorum physico-mathematicorum in usus academicos (Leiden, 1726). In the case of the last of these works, I have used John Colson's English translation of the second edition, The elements of natural philosophy (London, 1744), and also Sigaud de la Fond's French rendering of the greatly-expanded final (1762) version of the Latin text, Cours de physique expérimentale (Paris, 1769). Musschenbroek took care to bring his text up to date from one edition to the next, but his opinions concerning the cause of magnetism seem not to have changed very much with the years.