On Contributions to the Early History of Geomagnetism

Abstract

Here are a couple of related observations that may be of interest to the JOURNAL in case they have thus far escaped attention:It appears that one of the earliest of the electrical experimenters, one Otto von Guericke, of the mid 1600's, was led to make his experiments in generating electricity by means of a rotating sulphur globe by having entertained an electrical theory in lieu of the then magnetic conception of the gravity of the Earth. This is brought out in what to me was a charming article upon the subject of von Guericke, by Thomas Coulson, which appeared in the September and October issues of 1943 of the Journal of the Franklin Institute. I myself am an appreciative owner of von Guericke's book. ... I have been hoping that some scholar might eventually find enough interest in the Experimenta Nova to render it into English. Not only would it be interesting to know what von Guericke's ideas really were in this respect, but it is conceivable that since they were not subject to the limiting influence of our subsequent findings and mode of thought, there might be in them some refreshing novelty and suggestiveness.