Scientific Contributions Robert Hooke's most famous scientific work was his book Micrographia, which he published in 1665. This book is a collection of observations from his homemade compound microscope and illumination system. He observed many types of life from insects, sponges, and microorganisms all the way up to bird feathers. The side picture of a flea is probably the most well known picture. It was very large at 18 inches in legnth. Hooke also discovered plant cells by looking at cork tissue and also coined the term “cell” from his observations. He believed they looked like the cells of a monestary. Today, Robert Hooke is best known for his work in physics. Hooke's Law is used in spring equations because Hooke discovered that the extension of a spring is proportional to the weight attached to it. He developed this equation five years after he began working with Boyle. Robet Hooke also had quite an interest in geology and gravity. Hooke, while overshadowed by Issac Newton, was equally brilliant and wrote back and forth with Newton on the subject of gravity.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/hooke.html http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/hooke.html