Boyle's experiments on air. Artwork of the apparatus for experiments on air carried out by the English natural philosopher Robert Boyle (1627-1691). Here, liquids are ascending tubes when exposed to low pressures. This artwork is from Boyle's work A Continuation of New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touching the Spring and Weight of the Air, and their Effects (1669). This was a continuation of an earlier work of 1660, and was followed by a second part in 1682. In these works, Boyle described experiments on air, including the gas law named for him. He also investigated the effect of a vacuum on sound, magnetic force and frictional heat.