in a wire. It was shortly afterwards, as 

 Cavendish remarks, that Coulomb ap- 

 plied the same principle, in a classical 

 series of experiments, to the exact deter- 

 mination of electric and magnetic attrac- 

 tions : and, in various more convenient 

 forms, it is now one of the main resources 

 of delicate physical measurement. But 

 Michell's (and. Cavendish's) mastery of 

 it, and his just anticipation of its power, 

 went far beyond his age ; he designed 

 and constructed appliances with con- 

 fidence, for a precise estimation of forces 

 so minute that they could hardly even be 

 detected in any other way : even nowa- 

 days his application of the principle to 

 gravitation demands the resources of a 

 master. 



"It is to be expected that a man who 

 could confidently engage in preparations 

 to weigh a ball of lead against one of the 

 celestial bodies would be capable of deep 

 views on other astronomical questions. 

 An examination of his Memoir of 1767 

 c. 97 



