Gaspar Schott

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Gaspar Schott (5 February 1608 - 22 May 1666) was a German scientist, specializing in the fields of physics, mathematics and natural philosophy, and known for his piety. He was born at Königshofen and died at Augsburg (or Würzburg, sources vary).

[edit] Biography

In 1627 Schott entered the Society of Jesus. He studied first at the University of Würzburg but due to the Thirty Years' War he left the Holy Roman Empire, eventually finishing his studies at the University of Palermo. He studied under Athanasius Kircher, who was his mentor for many years. He corresponded with many researchers and inventors, like Otto von Guericke, Christiaan Huygens and Robert Boyle.

[edit] Works

Schott is most widely known for his works on hydraulic and mechanical instruments. His treatise on "chronometric marvels" contains the first description of a universal joint and the classification of gear teeth. He was the author of a number of works on mathematics, physics, and magic. However, his books were largely compendia of reports he received or books he read and he mostly repeated experiments, doing little, if any, original research.

Gaspar Schott's sketch of Otto von Guericke's Magdeburg hemispheres experiment.

Among his most famous works is the book Magia universalis naturæ et artis (4 vols., Würtzburg, 1657-1659), filled with many mathematical problems and physical experiments, notably in optics and acoustics. His Mechanicahydraulica-pneumatica (Würtzburg, 1657) contains the first description of von Guericke's air pump. He also published Pantometricum Kircherianum (Würtzburg, 1660); Physica curiosa (Würtzburg, 1662), a supplement to the Magia universalis; Anatomia physico-hydrostatica fontium et fluminum (Würtzburg, 1663), and a several editions of Cursus mathematicus. He also edited the Itinerarium extacticum of Athanasius Kircher and the Amussis Ferdidindea of Albert Curtz.