Editing 1704 in science

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The year '''1704 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events.

==Astronomy==
* ''approx. date'' – The first modern [[orrery]] is built by [[George Graham (clockmaker)|George Graham]] and [[Thomas Tompion]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlisle|first=Rodney|year=2004|title=Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries|page=[https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/189 189]|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|location=New Jersey|isbn=0-471-24410-4|url=https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/189}}</ref>

==Earth sciences==
* An [[earthquake]] strikes [[Gondar]] in [[Ethiopia]].

==Meteorology==
* [[Daniel Defoe]] documents the [[Great Storm of 1703]] with eyewitness testimonies in ''[[The Storm (Daniel Defoe)|The Storm]]'' (London).

==Physics==
* [[Isaac Newton]] releases a record of [[experiment]]s and the [[deductive reasoning|deductions]] made from them in ''[[Opticks]]'', a major contribution in study of [[optics]] and [[refraction]] of light.
* [[Pierre Varignon]] invents the U-tube [[manometer]], a device capable of measuring [[rarefaction]] in gases.<ref name=Kaye>{{cite book|last=Kaye|first=Brian H.|date=2008|title=Golf Balls, Boomerangs and Asteroids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3jQNKC5dp8C&pg=PA145|location=New York|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=145|isbn=978-3-527-61482-0}}</ref>

==Technology==
* The second [[Electric motor|electric machine]] is invented by British engineer [[Francis Hauksbee the elder]] ([[1660 in science|1660]]–[[1713 in science|1713]]): it is a sphere of glass rotated by a wheel.
* For watch movements, [[Peter Debaufre]] invents the Debaufre [[escapement]], the first frictional rest watch escapement produced: the escapement consists of two saw-tooth escape wheels of the same count.
* For watch bearings, a jewel bearing made of [[ruby]], comprising a ring (the "hole") with a sink for oil, is invented by Nicholas Facio with Peter and [[Jacob Debaufre]], who use pierced natural rubies. Other gemstones are used subsequently, including [[garnet]] (which is too soft) and [[diamond]]; in the 20th century, synthetic ruby or [[sapphire]] becomes universal for jewel bearings.
* In [[oil painting]], colormaker Diesbach of Berlin (Germany) accidentally invents the [[pigment]] [[Prussian blue]], a powerful dark blue pigment with greenish undertones (made from [[alum]] and animal bones); therefore, Prussian blue cannot be found in a paint layer predating this year.

==Publications==
* [[John Harris (writer)|John Harris]] publishes the first edition of the ''[[Lexicon Technicum]]'', an [[encyclopedic dictionary]] of science, in London.

==Births==
* February 28 – [[Louis Godin]], French astronomer (died [[1760 in science|1760]])
* June 4 – [[Benjamin Huntsman]], English inventor and manufacturer (died [[1776 in science|1776]])
* June 17 – [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]], English inventor (died c. [[1779 in science|1779]])
* July 31 – [[Gabriel Cramer]], [[Republic of Geneva|Genevan]] mathematician (died [[1752 in science|1752]])
* December 29 –  [[Martha Daniell Logan]], American botanist (died [[1779 in science|1779]])
* (c. 1704) – [[William Battie]], English psychiatrist (died [[1776 in science|1776]])
* ''undated'' – [[Richard Pococke]], English anthropologist and explorer (died [[1765 in science|1765]])

==Deaths==
* February 2 – [[Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l'Hôpital]], French mathematician (born [[1661 in science|1661]])
* March 17 – [[Menno van Coehoorn|Menno, Baron van Coehoorn]], Dutch military engineer (born [[1641 in science|1641]])
* April 15 – [[Johann van Waveren Hudde]], Dutch mathematician (born [[1628 in science|1628]])
* April 20 &ndash; [[Agnes Block]], Dutch horticulturalist (born [[1629 in science|1629]])
* June 14 – [[Ralph Bathurst]], English theologian, physician and academic (born [[1620 in science|1620]])
* July 7 – [[Pierre-Charles Le Sueur]], French fur trader and explorer (born c. [[1657 in science|1657]])
* November 20 – [[Charles Plumier]], French [[botanist]] (born [[1646 in science|1646]])
* [[Paolo Falconieri]], [[Florence|Florentine]] [[polymath]] (born [[1638 in science|1638]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1704 in science| ]]
[[Category:18th century in science]]
[[Category:1700s in science]]