'Trailblazing' Science Papers Posted Online

Ben Franklin's famous kite-key experiment galvanizes the Web
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2009 3:02 AM CST
'Trailblazing' Science Papers Posted Online
A drawing by Isaac Newton of his telescope contained in a book of his letters is displayed next to a statue of him at the Royal Society last week.   (Getty Images)

Britain's Royal Society is posting some of the key scientific moments in human history on the Web. Handwritten accounts include reports by Sir Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin, who details his 1752 experiment with a key, a kite and lightning. One of the posted studies, to determine if 8-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was truly a musical prodigy, found that he was "more interested in his cat," but then played a score "in the most masterly manner."

The reports "represent those thrilling moments when science allows us to understand better and to see further," said a spokesman for the society, which was founded in 1660. The reports are being released as part of the organization's 350th anniversary.
(More science stories.)

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