Cartesian diver
Diablillo de Descartes
- Date
- 1648 · confidence high
- Place
- Rome, Lazio, Italy
- Credited to
- Raffaello Magiotti
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The Cartesian diver, a device demonstrating Archimedes' principle and the ideal gas law through a small float that rises and sinks inside a sealed liquid, was first described in writing by Italian Raffaello Magiotti in 1648, though it is traditionally credited to Descartes.
Traditionally attributed to René Descartes, but the earliest documented written description is by Raffaello Magiotti (1648); there is no proof Descartes actually invented it.
What it led to
- Buoyancy teaching toys and demonstrations
- Liquid pressure measuring instruments
- Popularization of fluid physics in education