Mathematical Magick
Mathematical Magick (fully entitled Mathematical Magick, or, The wonders that may by performed by mechanichal geometry: in two books, concerning mechanical powers [and] motions. Being one of the most easie, pleasant, useful (and yet most neglected) Part of Mathematicks. Not before treated of in this language. ) is a work by the English theologian and natural scientist John Wilkins . a. 1680 was reissued.
The work is dedicated to His Highness the Prince Elector Palatine ( Karl I. Ludwig , Count Palatine of the Rhine and Elector Palatine). It is written in English that is easy to understand even for today's readers, with the numerous Latin quotations all translated. It is divided into two books with the titles Archimedes (because Archimedes was the most important discoverer of mechanical forces ), and Daedalus (because Daedalos was the first and most important manufacturer of Automata, self-moving machines). In the first book the principles of mechanics are presented and explained, in the second book technical achievements are discussed, which would certainly be possible with appropriate research and sufficient tests.
first book
The first book deals with mechanical objects and the forces that occur with them in 20 chapters, including the scales , the lever , the wheel , the pulley and the pulley , the wedge and the screw . The effects of these forces in the human limbs are also presented and the phrase attributed to Archimedes is examined: "Give me a point on which I can stand and I will turn the world off its hinges". The effect of multiple gear ratios coupled one after the other is examined as well as the importance of different speeds. Siege machines such as slingshots, catapults and a battery of arrows are shown and their effects and costs compared to contemporary firearms. Finally, Wilkins proves that theoretically man-made speeds must be possible that are greater than the speed of the Earth's rotation measured at the equator.
second book
Different devices
In the second book, a wide variety of automatically moving objects such as clocks, windmills, water mills and sawmills are examined. Devices that are driven by drafts in chimneys or by artificially generated overpressure are then also explained. A two-masted sailing carriage is shown as well as a vehicle with a vertical wind turbine. Various, self-moving figures of people and animals are reported. The improvement of a submarine is discussed with reference to the submersible by Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel . Doubts about the accounts of various small aircraft are reproduced and rejected. The flight of a person must also be possible if you build a frame in which the person can sit and push the frame sufficiently.
To fly
In Chapter VII various methods of flying are discussed, namely with the help of good or bad angels, as described several times in the Bible or known by wizards and witches, or with the help of birds, or with the help of suitable wings that man himself moves. In the introductory section it is mentioned rather casually that there are accounts of an English monk named Elmerus , who flew about 200 meters from the Tower of London in this way , as well as from one from the tower of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and from one others who had flown in Nuremberg and a Turk in Constantinople had tried something similar. For the sake of truth, however, it must be said that all these artists fell and broken arms or legs. But with enough practice, such a flight could be possible. Most sensible, however, is probably some kind of flying vehicle that is big enough to accommodate several people who could share the work of moving the wings, or that could have a motor built into it if one could build a small but powerful machine . With a mention of Archimedes' experiments on water displacement, Wilkins connects the hint that these thoughts can lead to an entirely new science about the carrying capacity of air. The start is the most difficult thing, if the apparatus has only reached a certain height, the gravity decreases so far that it can almost fly by itself like the big birds. With sufficient altitude it is even possible to fly to any place on earth, regardless of bad roads and weather conditions.
perpetual motion machine
From Chapter IX, the possibilities of various forms of a perpetual motion machine and of permanently burning lamps are discussed in detail.
Fausto Veranzio's parachute
In the work there is no mention of Fausto Veranzio , who in his Machinae Novae (c. 1615) published the copperplate of homo volans ( flying man ) hanging on a parachute . The work Mathematical Magick also deals in any way with the parachute or similar devices or even skydiving. John Wilkins' thinking revolves around the fact that flying must be possible. Braked jumps from towers are not his topic and are not mentioned in his work, not even marginally touched on.
In parachuting circles it is often claimed in numerous publications that Veranzio jumped in 1617 at the age of 65 with his parachute from the Campanile di San Marco in Venice and , according to other sources, from the tower of St. Martin in Bratislava . Veranzio is therefore generally considered to be the first parachutist. The Mathematical Magick by John Wilkins is regularly given as evidence of this .
As can be seen from the preceding presentation of this paper, these claims are unfounded. Neither Faustus Veranzio nor a parachute jump appear in Mathematical Magick .
Individual evidence
- ↑ By IWMA, London, printed by MF for Sat: Gellibrand at the brasen Serpent in Pauls Church-yard. 1648. Quoted from: Asbach-Schnitker, Brigitte: John Wilkins, Mercury ... Bibliography, 7.3 The Works of John Wilkins, n ° 24
- ^ By J. Wilkins, late Ld BP of Chester. London: Printed for Edw.Gellibrand at the Golden Ball in St. Pauls Church-yard. 1680. 295 pages. Reproduction of the original in the British Library by EEBO - Early English Books Online [restricted access]; Further editions in 1691 and 1707. Various modern reprints
- ↑ so Wilkins in his preface
- ↑ p. 195
- ↑ S. 204 [110]: "Tis related of a certain English Monk called Elmerus, about the Confessors time, that he did by such wings fly from a Tower above a furlong; and so another from Saint Marks steeple in Venice; another at Norinberge; and Busbequius speaks of a Turk in Constantinople, who attempted something this way. "
- ↑ For modern humans it might seem obvious, but the intellectual step to an aircraft lighter than air had not yet taken place.
- ↑ pp. 220, 221