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Mechanics

In 1660, Hooke discovered the law of elasticity that bears his name and describes the linear variation of tension with extension in an elastic spring. Hooke first described this discovery in an anagram "ceiiinosssttuv", whose solution he published in 1678 as Ut tensio, sic vis ("As the extension, so the force"). His work on elasticity culminated in his development of the balance spring or hairspring, which for the first time enabled a portable timepiece – a watch – to keep time with reasonable accuracy. A bitter dispute between Hooke and Christiaan Huygens on the priority of this invention was to continue for centuries after the death of both but a note dated 23 June 1670 in the journals of the Royal Society, describing a demonstration of a balance-controlled watch before the Royal Society, may support Hooke's claim to priority for the idea. Nevertheless, it is Huygens who is credited with building the first watch to use a balance spring.

Hooke's announcement of his law of elasticity using an anagram was a method scientists, such as Hooke, Huygens and Galileo, sometimes used to establish priority for a discovery without revealing details. Hooke used mechanical analogues to understand fundamental processes such as the motion of a spherical pendulum and of a ball in a hollow cone, to demonstrate central force due to gravity, and a hanging chain net with point loads to provide the optimum shape for a dome with heavy cross on top.

Despite continuing reports to the contrary, Hooke did not influence Thomas Newcomen 's invention of the steam engine; this myth, which originated in an article in the third edition of " Encyclopædia Britannica ", has been found to be mistaken.)