Boyle's Law
The income from the family estate meant that Towneley had no need to take any other employment. He devoted himself to the study of mathematics and natural philosophy, leaving the management of his estates to his younger brother Charles Towneley (1631–1712). Henry Power (1623–1668), of Halifax, was both the Towneley family's physician and a friend who shared Towneley's enthusiasm for experimentation. On 27 April 1661, they used a barometer, of the type invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643, to measure the pressure of air at different altitudes on Pendle Hill in Lancashire. As a result, they recognised a relation between the density of air and its pressure. Power eventually published the results in his book Experimental Philosophy in 1663 but an early draft was seen by Robert Boyle in 1661 and it seems Towneley also discussed the experiments with Boyle when he visited London in the winter of 1661-62. Later in 1662, Boyle was able to publish what is now known as Boyle's Law, but what he referred to as Mr Towneley's hypothesis.
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