Robert Symmer, FRS (1707–1763) was a Scottish philosopher and physicist, known principally for the now defunct

fluid theory of electricity Fluid theories of electricity are outdated theories that postulated one or more electrical fluids which were thought to be responsible for many electrical phenomena in the history of electromagnetism. The "two-fluid" theory of electricity, created ...

Biography

Symmer was born in Galloway, Scotland and educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, matriculating in 1719 but not graduating until 1735. He published a four-part treatise in the ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'' titled "New Experiments and Observations concerning Electricity". His paper suggested that

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

was not a single force, as was believed by, for example

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and Giambatista Beccaria, but was instead two opposing forces arising from two separate liquids. He reported his observations on the

static electricity Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. The charge remains until it can move away by an electric current or electrical discharge. The word "static" is used to differentiate it from electric ...

resulting from repeatedly removing his woollen and silk stockings, a habit which led to him being called "Philosophe Déchaussé" (Barefoot Philosopher) in France. Although his theory was paid little attention in Britain, his views received more notice abroad. Scholars such as

Jean-Antoine Nollet Jean-Antoine Nollet (; 19 November 170025 April 1770) was a French clergyman and physicist who conducted a number of experiments with electricity and discovered osmosis. As a deacon in the Catholic Church, he was also known as Abbé Nollet. Bio ...

Franz Aepinus Franz Ulrich Theodor Aepinus (13 December 172410 August 1802) was a German mathematician, scientist, and natural philosopher residing in the Russian Empire. Aepinus is best known for his researches, theoretical and experimental, in electricity and ...

, Johan Wilcke, Brugmans Anton or Torbern Bergman were supporters of his 'two-fluid' theory, considering him its originator. However, this idea was a revival of that of Charles du Fay, who in 1733 considered that electricity consisted of 'glass electricity' (''électricité vitreuse'') and 'resin electricity' (''électricité résineuse''). He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1753. He was appointed head clerk of the office of the Treasurer of the Chamber, dealing with the accounts of the King's Household.

Information

J. L. Heilbron: ''Robert Symmer and the Two Electricities'', in: ISIS, 1976, S. 7 ff.

J. L. Heilbron: ''Elements of early modern physics'', 1982
, S. 208, 270, 277
''New Experiments and Observations concerning Electricity'' (Wikimedia Commons)Full text
available at

JSTOR JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symmer, Robert 1707 births 1763 deaths 18th-century Scottish philosophers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Natural philosophers Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish physicists People from Dumfries and Galloway Place of birth missing

Biography

See also

Information

References