Wrote Letter L-409 of 1703-02-05 to the members of the Royal Society about colony-forming little animals from Delft canal water, dissolving silver and gold in acids, and why there is little duckweed on the surface of water in cold weather
Date:
February 5, 1703
Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation from Alle de Brieven. The Collected Letters at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
Leeuwenhoek wrote this letter about colony-forming flagellate 'Anthophysa vegetans' from Delft canal water. Dissolving silver in aqua fortis (nitric acid and sulphuric acid) and gold in aqua regia (mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid). The forms in which gold is precipitated from the solution. Reasons why there is little duckweed on the surface of water in cold weather.