1700 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1700 in science
and technology
involved some significant events.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events.
Exploration
- Edmond HalleyEdmond HalleyEdmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...
, aboard HMS ParamourHMS Paramour (1694)HMS Paramour was a 6-gun pink of the Royal Navy, briefly commanded by the astronomer Edmond Halley, initially as a civilian and later as a "temporary captain"....
, observes the Antarctic ConvergenceAntarctic ConvergenceThe Antarctic Convergence is a curve continuously encircling Antarctica where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the subantarctic. Antarctic waters predominantly sink beneath subantarctic waters, while associated zones of mixing and upwelling create a zone...
.
Geology
- January 26 (approx. 9 p.m.) – Cascadia earthquake: A gigantic earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
rips across the present-day west coast of CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
along the Cascadia subduction zoneCascadia subduction zoneThe Cascadia subduction zone is a subduction zone, a type of convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island to northern California. It is a very long sloping fault that separates the Juan de Fuca and North America plates.New ocean floor is being created offshore of...
over more than 600 miles (966 km) from Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
to Cape MendocinoCape MendocinoCape Mendocino located on the Lost Coast entirely within Humboldt County, California, USA, is the westernmost point on the coast of California. It has been a landmark since the 16th century when the Manila Galleons would reach the coast here following the prevailing westerlies all the way across...
. The magnitudeRichter magnitude scaleThe expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
of the earthquake is estimated as between 8.7 and 9.2. There is no direct written documentation of the event; however, the Orphan TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
, which it triggers, hits Japan approximately 10 hours later, flooding fields and washing away houses.
Medicine
- Nicolas AndryNicolas AndryNicolas Andry de Bois-Regard was a French physician and writer. He played a significant role in the early history of both parasitology and orthopedics, the name for which is taken from Andry's book Orthopédie.-Early life and career:...
publishes De la génération des vers dans les corps de l'homme, a pioneering text in the germ theory of diseaseGerm theory of diseaseThe germ theory of disease, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases...
. - Bernardino RamazziniBernardino RamazziniBernardino Ramazzini was an Italian physician.Ramazzini was an early proponent of the use of cinchona bark in the treatment of Malaria...
publishes De Morbis Artificum Diatriba in ModenaModenaModena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, a pioneering text in occupational medicine.
Technology
- approx. date – The clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
might have been invented by the German flute maker Johann Christoph DennerJohann Christoph DennerJohann Christoph Denner , was a famous woodwind instrument maker of the Baroque era, to whom the invention of the clarinet is attributed....
as a modification of the chalumeauChalumeauThis article is about the historical musical instrument. For the register on the clarinet that is named for this instrument, see Clarinet#Range....
, but it will not be until the late 18th century that composers include clarinets into their orchestrations. - The pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, newly invented by Bartolomeo CristoforiBartolomeo CristoforiBartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano.-Life:...
, is listed in an inventory of musical instruments owned by the MediciMediciThe House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
.
Institutions
- July 11 – The Prussian Academy of SciencesPrussian Academy of SciencesThe Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
is founded with LeibnizGottfried LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
as president.
Births
- February 8 – Daniel BernoulliDaniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
, mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
(died 17821782 in scienceThe year 1782 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.-Aviation:* December 14 - The Montgolfier brothers first test fly a hot air balloon; it floats nearly .-Births:...
) - November 19 – Jean-Antoine NolletJean-Antoine NolletJean-Antoine Nollet was a French clergyman and physicist. As a priest, he was also known as Abbé Nollet. He was particularly interested in the new science of electricity, which he explored with the help of Du Fay and Réaumur...
, clergyman and physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
(died 17701770 in scienceThe year 1770 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Biology:* Arthur Young publishes A Course of Experimental Agriculture in England.-Chemistry:...
) - November 28 – Nathaniel BlissNathaniel BlissThe Reverend Nathaniel Bliss was an English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Britain's fourth Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764....
, astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
(died 17641764 in scienceThe year 1764 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Technology:* The spinning jenny, a multi-spool spinning wheel, is invented by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, near Blackburn, Lancashire, England.-Births:...
) - undated – William Braikenridge, clergyman and geometer (died 17621762 in scienceThe year 1762 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Mathematics:* September – Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships is established in London, pioneering mutual insurance using a method of actuarial science devised by mathematician James Dodson.* Johann...
)
Deaths
- May 22 – Louis JollietLouis JollietLouis Jolliet , also known as Louis Joliet, was a French Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America...
, explorer (born 16451645 in scienceThe year 1645 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* The Solar cycle enters the 70-year Maunder Minimum.* First published map of the Moon produced by Michael Florent van Langren.-Technology:...
) - undated – KamalakaraKamalakaraKamalakara , an Indian astronomer and mathematician, came from a learned family of scholars from Golagrāma, a village on the northern bank of the river Godāvarī. His father was Nrsimha who was born in 1586. Two of Kamalakara's three brothers were also astronomer and mathematicians: Divakara, who...
, astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
and mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
(born 16161616 in scienceThe year 1616 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Galileo challenges the Catholic Church, saying Copernicus' theory of the Solar System is correct...
)