Boyle, Huygens and the ‘anomalous suspension’ of water

Abstract

We discuss experiments aimed at retracing some of the experiments on vacuum performed in the 17th century by Boyle and Huygens. We focus on the ‘anomalous suspension’ of water reported by Huygens in 1662. Our revisitation allows to discuss the apparent contrast between the results obtained by Boyle and Huygens. This controversy was one of the first conducted in scientific terms and offers the possibility of illustrating to the students how competitions and debates are conducted in modern science, which appears important in a period in which science is contested by antiscientific movements.