Abstract
MY object in writing this paper is principally to draw attention to the course which the employment of pendulums has taken, from the time when Richer's first experiment at Cayenne, in 1672, attracted the attention of Newton; and to show in what respect the present aspect of the question is different from that which successive observers, as well as writers upon the subject, have at various times taken. It is no part of my object to discuss the observations themselves, or to discriminate between them, still less to enter upon any investigation of the figure of the earth, except incidentally in alluding to the conclusions which different writers have accepted. But as it is nearly impossible—perhaps not altogether desirable—to hold no independent opinions, I may add that I hope to be able to influence the future course of such operations in a certain direction which will be recognisable as we proceed.
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HERSCHEL, J. On the Employment of the Pendulum for Determining the Figure of the Earth . Nature 21, 599–602 (1880). https://doi.org/10.1038/021599a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/021599a0