Boyle’s work on air pressure was described in 1660 in New Experiments Physico-Mechanical Touching the Spring of the Air. In his experiments, he used an improved air pump, invented by his assistant Robert Hooke, about whom more in Chapter 14. By pumping air out of vessels, Boyle was able to establish that air is needed for the propagation of sound, for fire, and for life. He found that the level of mercury in a barometer drops when air is pumped out of its surroundings, adding a powerful argument in favor of Torricelli’s conclusion that air pressure is responsible for phenomena previously
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