''Technica Curiosa'' was an early

compendium A compendium ( compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a specific ...

of scientific and medical technologies. It was one part of a two-volume work, the other being '' Physica Curiosa'', authored by the German

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

scholar

Gaspar Schott Gaspar Schott (German language, German: ''Kaspar'' (or ''Caspar'') ''Schott''; Latin: ''Gaspar Schottus''; 5 February 1608 – 22 May 1666) was a Germans, German Jesuit and scientist, specializing in the fields of physics, mathematics and natura ...

and published in 1664 during the early stages of the

Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of History of science, modern science during the early modern period, when developments in History of mathematics#Mathematics during the Scientific Revolution, mathemati ...

Background of the writer

Schott was an attentive spectator at the demonstrations of

Otto von Guericke Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; – ) was a German scientist, inventor, mathematician and physicist. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental methods and repeatable demonstrations on the physics of ...

vacuum pump A vacuum pump is a type of pump device that draws gas particles from a sealed volume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. The first vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto von Guericke, and was preceded by the suction pump, which dates to ...

and subsequently began extensive experiments and studies on his own. He established a fruitful correspondence with von Guericke and published the earliest account on von Guericke's experiments on

air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , whi ...

and the vacuum in 1657, titled ''Experimentum Novum Magdeburgicum'' as an appendix of his ''Mechanica Hydraulico-pneumatica''. With von Guericke as co-author, he published a reviewed and more detailed account in the ''Technica Curiosa''.

Role in popularizing science

The work ranks among the early

popular science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

publications and did much to inspire widespread interest in the sciences.

21st-century legacy

In 2017 an online platform, that serves as host for several American science magazines for a modern audience has been titled ''Technica Curiosa''. The site incorporates the popular magazines ''

Popular Astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

'', ''

Popular Electronics ''Popular Electronics'' was an American magazine published by John August Media, LLC, and hosted at TechnicaCuriosa.com. The magazine was started by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company in October 1954 for electronics hobbyists and experimenters. It so ...

'', and ''

Mechanix Illustrated ''Mechanix Illustrated'' is an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications. Its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older ''Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or pops ...

'', among others.

References

1664 non-fiction books 1664 in science 1664 in the Holy Roman Empire German non-fiction books Technology books Medical books Reference works Scientific Revolution Popular science books Works by Gaspar Schott {{tech-book-stub