Longbow, for very long fibres :) Yes it was. He was the epitome of the experimental physicist who was also a master instrument maker. Boys also wrote an entertaining book on soap bubbles & surface tension where as a demonstration he makes a mechanical amplifier using sound to trigger a stream of drops of water to merge into large drops which then fell onto a drumskin, turning the ticking of a watch up to deafening proportions.
Tom Harris <[email protected]> On 13 December 2013 15:13, Jim Lux <[email protected]> wrote: > On 12/12/13 4:28 PM, Tom Harris wrote: > >> The eccentric English physicist Boys made quartz fibres by attaching one >> end to a crossbow bolt, heating the middle and then firing the bolt, at >> what I have been unable to determine. He used this to measure the >> gravitational constant by suspending iron spheres from the resultant >> fibre, >> which of course was amazingly strong for it's diameter. >> >> Myself I'd use a pneumatic cannon, since I have one, rather than a >> crossbow. >> >> >> > A crossbow is, shall we say, more English, although perhaps historically, > a longbow might be more significant. > > Was that the same Boys who invented the Boys camera used to take lightning > photographs? It's a sort of rotating drum streak camera. > > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/ > mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
