Editing 1668 in science

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The year '''1668 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events.

==Astronomy==
* [[Isaac Newton]] invents the reflecting telescope.

==Biology==
* [[Francesco Redi]] publishes ''Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl'Insetti'' ("Experiments on the Generation of Insects"), disproving theories of the [[spontaneous generation]] of [[maggot]]s in putrefying matter.

==Mathematics==
* [[Nicholas Mercator]] and [[William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker|William Brouncker]] discover an [[infinite series]] for the logarithm while attempting to calculate the area under a [[hyperbola|hyperbolic segment]].

==Medicine==
* [[François Mauriceau]] publishes ''Traité des Maladies des Femmes Grosses et Accouchées'' in Paris, a key text in scientific [[obstetrics]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Medical Bibliography; a check-list of texts illustrating the history of the medical sciences|first=Leslie T.|last=Morton|location=London|publisher=Grafton|year=1943}}</ref>
* [[John Mayow]] publishes a tract on [[Respiration (physiology)|respiration]] in [[Oxford]], recognising "spiritus nitro-aereus" as a component of air, prefiguring the isolation of [[oxygen]].

==Publications==
* [[John Wilkins]] publishes ''[[An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language]]'' proposing a [[universal language]] and a uniform system of measurement for international communication between [[natural philosopher]]s.

==Births==
* December 31 – [[Herman Boerhaave]], Dutch [[physician]] and [[chemist]] who makes [[Leiden]] a European centre of medical knowledge (died [[1738 in science|1738]])

==Deaths==
*

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1668 in science| ]]
[[Category:17th century in science]]
[[Category:1660s in science]]