Robert hooke contribution to study of cells

No portrait survives of Robert Hooke. His name is somewhatobscure today, due in part to the enmity of his famous, influential,and extremely vindictive colleague, Sir Isaac Newton. Yet Hookewas perhaps the single greatest experimental scientist of theseventeenth century. His interests knew no bounds, ranging fromphysics and astronomy, to chemistry, biology, and geology, toarchitecture and naval technology; he collaborated or correspondedwith scientists as diverse as Christian Huygens,Antonyvan Leeuwenhoek, Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton.Among other accomplishments, he invented the universal joint, the iris diaphragm,and an early prototype of the respirator; invented the anchor escapementand the balance spring, which made more accurate clocks possible; servedas Chief Surveyor and helped rebuild London after the Great Fire of 1666;worked out the correct theory of combustion; devised an equation describingelasticity that is still used today ("Hooke's Law"); assisted Robert Boylein studying the physics of gases; invented or improved meteorologicalinstruments such as the barometer, anemometer, and hygrometer; andso on. He was the type of scientist that was then called a virtuoso-- able to contribute findings of major importance in any field of science.It is not surprising that he made important contributions to biology and topaleontology.

Relatively little is known about Robert Hooke's life. He was born on July 18,1635, at Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight, the son of a churchman. He wasapparently largely educated at home by his father, althoughhe also served an apprenticeship to an artist. He was able toenter Westminster School at the age of thirteen, and from there went to Oxford, wheresome of the best scientists in England were working at the time. Hookeimpressed them with his skills at designing experiments and buildingequipment, and soon became an assistant to the chemist Robert Boyle. In1662 Hooke was named Curator of Experiments of the newly

Biology of cells

In biology, cell theory is a scientific theory first formulated in the mid-nineteenth century, that living organisms are made up of cells, that they are the basic structural/organizational unit of all organisms, and that all cells come from pre-existing cells. Cells are the basic unit of structure in all living organisms and also the basic unit of reproduction.

Cell theory has traditionally been accepted as the governing theory of all life, but some biologists consider non-cellular entities such as viruses living organisms and thus disagree with the universal application of cell theory to all forms of life.

History

With continual improvements made to microscopes over time, magnification technology became advanced enough to discover cells. This discovery is largely attributed to Robert Hooke, and began the scientific study of cells, known as cell biology. When observing a piece of cork under the scope, he was able to see pores. This was shocking at the time as it was believed no one else had seen these. To further support his theory, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann both also studied cells of both animal and plants. What they discovered were significant differences between the two types of cells. This put forth the idea that cells were not only fundamental to plants, but animals as well.

Microscopes

Further information: Microscope § Rise of modern light microscopes

The discovery of the cell was made possible through the invention of the microscope. In the first century BC, Romans were able to make glass. They discovered that objects appeared to be larger under the glass. The expanded use of lenses in eyeglasses in the 13th century probably led to wider spread use of simple microscopes (magnifying glasses) with limited magnification. Compound microscopes, which combine an objective lens with an eyepiece to view a real image achieving much higher magnification, first a

In 1665, Robert Hooke published Micrographia, a book filled with drawings and descriptions of the organisms he viewed under the recently invented microscope. The invention of the microscope led to the discovery of the cell by Hooke. While looking at cork, Hooke observed box-shaped structures, which he called “cells” as they reminded him of the cells, or rooms, in monasteries. This discovery led to the development of the classical cell theory.

The classical cell theory was proposed by Theodor Schwann in 1839. There are three parts to this theory. The first part states that all organisms are made of cells. The second part states that cells are the basic units of life. These parts were based on a conclusion made by Schwann and Matthias Schleiden in 1838, after comparing their observations of plant and animal cells. The third part, which asserts that cells come from preexisting cells that have multiplied, was described by Rudolf Virchow in 1858, when he stated omnis cellula e cellula (all cells come from cells).

Since the formation of classical cell theory, technology has improved, allowing for more detailed observations that have led to new discoveries about cells. These findings led to the formation of the modern cell theory, which has three main additions: first, that DNA is passed between cells during cell division; second, that the cells of all organisms within a similar species are mostly the same, both structurally and chemically; and finally, that energy flow occurs within cells.

Robert Hooke was a 17th-century genius who, apart from his contribution to mathematics, mechanics and astronomy, is highly regarded for his contribution to cell theory and the invention of the microscope. He was also well known for discovering the law governing the stretch of elastic materials, discovering celestial objects and upgrading devices for weather measurement.

Early Life 

Robert Hooke was born in 1635 on an island named Isle of Wight on the southern coast of England. During most of his childhood, he could not attend school due to deteriorating physical health with severe cases of smallpox. Yet he showed a commendable mechanical ability by building a toy boat along with cannons that could fire and building a wooden clock. As a teenager, he started studying at Westminster College, where he discovered his unique talents in mathematics, languages and mechanics. When he enrolled in Christ Church College of the University of Oxford, he grew a passion for building telescopes. 

Developing Microscope

Prior to 1665, humans were unaware of the fact that microscopes and microscopic worlds existed. Although due to the expanded use of lenses for eyeglasses, simple microscopes were used in the 13th century. Around 1620 compound microscopes were introduced in Europe, which combined an objective lens and an eyepiece to view an image with higher magnification. 

In 1665, interested in learning about the microscopic world, scientist Hooke improved the design of Anton van Leeuwenhoek’s simple microscope or magnifying glass, which had limited magnification and created a compound microscope with 300x magnification. Hooke embraced one of the first microscopes, improved them and utilised them in further discovery of nature. He designed and developed a light microscope, where three glass lenses and a stage light were used to illuminate and magnify objects to be examined. Hooke’s microscope was about six inch