Article ID: CBB092448104

Henry Cavendish on Gravitational Deflection of Light (2022)

unapi

A recent analysis of two handwritten sheets of paper by Henry Cavendish (1731–1810) reveals the details of his calculation of the deflection of light induced by the gravitational field of isolated celestial bodies. Except for a few lines from one of these pages, where Cavendish communicated the result, the two documents have never been published. This gave rise to speculations about how, if at all, Cavendish derived his formula for the deflection angle by his own calculations. Such doubts are dispelled and it is demonstrated how Cavendish, in these documents, applied Newtonian mechanics to the corpuscles of light.

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Authors & Contributors
Tomory, Leslie
Chen-Morris, Raz
Clotfelter, B. E.
Craik, Alex D. D.
Dalton, John
Eisenstaedt, Jean
Journals
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
American Journal of Physics
Annalen der Physik
Annals of Science: The History of Science and Technology
Archives of Natural History
European Physical Journal H
Publishers
Alicante Publicaciones
Oxford University Press
University of Leeds (United Kingdom
Concepts
Gravitation
Physics
Light
Manuscripts
Celestial mechanics
Translations
People
Cavendish, Henry
Newton, Isaac
Bentley, Richard
Cusanus, Nicolaus
Dalton, John
Einstein, Albert
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
17th century
20th century
Medieval
Places
Great Britain
Ireland
Belgium
France
Scotland
England
Institutions
Royal Society of London
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