Robert Hooke: biography and contributions of this English researcher

Robert Hooke is the scientist who coined the concept of "cell", whose contributions throughout his career as a scientist were fundamental in the development of biology and physics.

Likewise, Hooke had a prolific career developed in other very disparate fields (horology or chronometry, microscopy, astronomy, medicine, nautical and architecture), which is why he has been dubbed "the Leonardo da Vinci English".

However, despite having made great scientific contributions, he did not receive much recognition. In addition, he had a strong confrontation with Isaac Newton that has been very popular.

In this biography of Robert Hooke we will give a review of the life of this researcher, as well as an explanation of his most important discoveries.

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Short Biography of Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke was born on July 18, 1635 on the Isle of Wight, the largest island in England. Son of Cecily Gyles and John Hooke, an Anglican clergyman who dedicated himself to teaching his son because he could not enroll him in a school due to lack of financial resources.

His father passed away when he was only 13 years old. Being orphaned of a father at such a young age, he immediately had to go to work.

His first job was as an assistant to a portrait painter He was very popular at the time on the Isle of Wight, although he complained that the oils and varnishes they used irritated his chest area, so he quit work.

Early Years: Westminster School

After leaving his job, Hooke began studying at the Westminster School, a very important school located in London. There he attended all kinds of meetings on science and philosophy, among other areas of great interest to him.

At Westminster School he was an outstanding student, so at the age of 18 he got a scholarship as a chorister at Christ Church College, Oxford., which is the church of the Diocese of Oxford, belonging to the University of Oxford. There he had the opportunity to receive a good academic training and, as he was a scholarship student, he also had to help with housework.

During those years he focused on developing academically in order to earn a living and thus have a better future, beginning as an assistant in a laboratory, where he was soon noted for a series of discoveries that he did. That is when he began to forge his passion for science, taking an interest in a wide variety of scientific works. It was then that he met the members of the Royal Society who supported him in his scientific career.

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The passing of him by the Royal Society

The Royal Society of London is the oldest scientific society in the United Kingdom, whose official foundation dates back to 1662. However, years before the founding scientists already held regular meetings. Robert hooke He was part of this society for 40 years, beginning as an assistant to the philosopher, chemist, physicist and inventor Robert Boyle.

The first major work he did as Boyle's assistant was developing an air pump that served to compress air to produce a vacuum. This bomb served Boyle to conclude his experiment on the formulation of the gas law (Law of Boyle), whose main postulate is that the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure that has.

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Robert Hooke's contributions to science

In addition to his work as Boyle's assistant, Hooke made great discoveries, notably those explained below.

1. Law of elasticity

During his time as Boyle's assistant, Hooke developed the theory that has been dubbed "Hooke's Law." This law was postulated in order to explain that When a spring is stretched, its elongation is directly proportional to the modulus of force with which it is carried out..

This theory gave way to various scientific studies that today allow various predictions in the field of engineering and physics, such as when designing a bridge, you can calculate the effect it will have on the weight of the vehicles when passing through it and in this way know the materials to build the bridge that will be necessary in order to bear said load.

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2. Capillarity

In his work published in 1665 under the name "Micrography" (Micrographia in its translation into Spanish), Hooke explains his discoveries about capillarity and states that at the outlet of the water and the rest of the fluids through narrow glass tubes, the height to which the water reached was directly related to the diameter of the tube through which happens. In addition, this work became a scientific Best Seller, being the first in history, and it was also the first to show drawings of images captured with optical microscopy.

3. Cell theory and cells

With the use of the microscope, Hooke he observed that in the sheet there were a series of small cavities shaped like a polyhedron, much like a honeycomb. He then baptized each of these cavities with the name of "cell", without knowing the great relevance they had. those cavities in the constitution of living beings, and what he was seeing were actually plant cells dead.

Thanks to this observation, a few years later, the composition of the tissue of living beings was discovered and it also served to postulate a theory about the organization of cells.

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4. Theory of the motion of the planets

Robert Hooke investigated for years the theory of planetary motion starting from a problem of mechanics and also investigated about the law of universal gravitation.

His works in this field were the ones that triggered his rivalry with Newton because the latter was the one who managed to publish the mathematical proof necessary to prove it.

On the other hand, there are sources that reveal that Hooke investigated the ellipse-shaped motion of the Earth around the Sun.

5. Inventions

Hooke was also a prolific inventor. Among his inventions it is worth highlighting the instruments he designed to record changes in weather conditions: an alcohol thermometer, a dial barometer, an improved stopwatch, anemometer, a hygrometer and a clock that will automatically record instrument readings meteorological.

Confrontation with Isaac Newton

Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton had a long battle of egos for being the most brilliant scientific mind of their time, being a very even rivalry while Hooke lived; However, after his death, Newton continued with his scientific work with many advances, which is why he ended up achieving greater recognition than Hooke.

The rivalry between the two arose from a publication by Newton in 1687 entitled "Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica" (Mathematical principles of natural philosophy), where he spoke of the universal law of gravitation, because on that idea A scientist had been researching several scientists for years, Hooke's contributions during the time being key to their development. from 1670. However, Newton was the one who managed to create the rigorous mathematical proof to prove it.

The point is that years ago Hooke and Newton had had a long correspondence relationship in which they talked about all kinds of subjects. Then, After Newton had published his theory of the law of gravity, Hooke was angry because he said that he was the one who had given Newton the idea. through the letters he wrote to her; while Newton denied that it was Hooke who had given him the idea. All Newton admitted was that Hooke, through his letters, aroused his interest in astronomy.

They also had a fairly similar dispute based on the "Corpuscular Theory" published by Newton, in which stated that light was composed of very small particles that moved in a line straight

Leaving aside the conflicts that Robert Hooke had with Isaac Newton, there is no doubt that she was a great scientist with a brilliant mind, being a very representative figure of the experimental science, being considered one of the fathers of microscopy, physics and scientific popularization, for which the figure of him has continued to be remembered until our days. days.