One of the world's oldest scientific
institutions is marking the start of its 350th year by putting 60 of
its most memorable research papers online.
The Royal Society, founded in London in 1660, is making public manuscripts by figures like Sir Isaac Newton.
Benjamin Franklin's account of his infamous kite-flying experiment is also available on the Trailblazing website.
Society president Lord Rees said the papers documented some of the most "thrilling moments" in science history.
The Royal Society grew out of the so-called "Invisible College" of
thinkers who began meeting in the mid-1640s to discuss science and
philosophy.
Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660 and thereafter it met weekly to debate and witness experiments.
Mozart study
The papers published on the Trailblazing website were first printed in the society's journal, Philosophical Transactions.
They were chosen from 60,000 printed since the journal's foundation in
1665 - a date which makes it the oldest continuously published
scientific periodical in the world.
Among the highlights are a gruesome account of a 17th Century blood
transfusion and the article in which Sir Isaac showed that white light
is a mixture of other colours.
The scientific papers represent a ceaseless quest by scientists over the centuries
Lord Rees
President of the Royal Society
Audio slideshow: 350 years of discovery
Also included is Mr Franklin's account of his ill-advised attempt in
1752 to show that lightning was a form of electricity by flying a kite
in a storm, and a 1970 paper on black holes co-written by Professor
Stephen Hawking.
There is also an entertaining paper about a study of the nine-year-old
Mozart in London in 1770 to determine whether he really was a child
prodigy.
Suggestions he was in fact a midget adult were dismissed by writer
Daines Barrington on the grounds that young Wolfgang was more
enthusiastic about playing with his cat than practising his harpsichord.
'Thrilling moments'
Lord Rees said: "The scientific papers
on Trailblazing represent a ceaseless quest by scientists over the
centuries, many of them Fellows of the Royal Society, to test and build
on our knowledge of humankind and the universe.
"Individually, they represent those thrilling moments when science allows us to understand better and to see further."
The Royal Society is holding a series of events during its 350th year to mark the anniversary.
They include a nine-day science and arts festival next summer and a
series of public lectures and debates at its London headquarters.