Thursday 6 May 1669
Up, and by coach to Sir W. Coventry’s, but he gone out. I by water back to the Office, and there all the morning; then to dinner, and then to the Office again, and anon with my wife by coach to take the ayre, it being a noble day, as far as the Greene Man, mightily pleased with our journey, and our condition of doing it in our own coach, and so home, and to walk in the garden, and so to supper and to bed, my eyes being bad with writing my journal, part of it, to-night.
4 Annotations
First Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
The Royal Society today at Arundel House — from the Hooke Folio Online
May. 6. [ Concerning calculating longitude ] The curator produced a new kind of Pendulum of his own inventio hauing a great weight appendant to it, & moued with a very Small force: vizt by such a contriuance, that a pendulum of about 14 foot Long soe as a single vibration of it is made in 2 seconds with an excursion of half an inch or Lesse hauing a weight of 3 pounds hanging and moued by the Sole force of a pocket watch with 4 wheels, shall goe 14 months & cause very equall vibrations -
He shewd two seuerall contriuances for it, one was with a pin vpon the ballance of a pocket watch, making a bifurcated needle to vibrate on one end, and on the other end the pendulum. Another was with a threed fastned on one end to the ballance of the watch and on the other end to the pendulum & soe mouing it to & fro. Dr. Wren suggested a 3d way. vizt by taking a Cylindricall staff of twenty Eight foot Long, and making it moue in its middle on a Pin and hanging an aequall weights on each end of it to be moued with a pocket watch.
The Curator was orderd to cause one to be made for the Society closing the pendulum in a glasse tube, with a bolt head beneath. --
The same produced his instrument for obseruing Second minutes by the Sun, by a small telescope fastned on a boord, and Casting the picture of the Sun without a Penumbra, through it vpon an arch of wood - couered with white paper fastned to the opposite end of the boord, an instrument of Excellent vse to Obserue Eclipses. He was orderd to cause the arch to be diuided against next Day.
http://webapps.qmul.ac.uk/cell/Ho…
Jesse • Link
Hooke Folio Online: "an instrument of Excellent use to Observe Eclipses"
Still a good idea -> http://media.skyandtelescope.com/…
Australian Susan • Link
Sam is commenting on the pain in his eyes in most of his entries now. He does not mention having a problem with reading music, but he has not been recording playing an instrument or singing for a good while now. Pressure of work? A fading interest? Or more eye trouble which is not recorded?
Second Reading
Tonyel • Link
"my eyes being bad with writing my journal, part of it, to-night."
Sam seems clear that the problems with his eyes are due to too little or, occasionally, too much light yet he persists in writing his journal by candle-light instead of during the day. I wonder why - it's not as though he has a 9 to 5 job.