DH25020 Living Machinery by A.V.Hill V01 281025

 Nice question — A. V. Hill’s 1926 Christmas Lectures are a neat piece of science-communication history. Here’s a concise rundown with sources so you can read more.

What they were

• In December 1926 Archibald Vivian (A. V.) Hill (Nobel laureate 1922) gave a series of six Royal Institution Christmas Lectures aimed at a “juvenile auditory.” The lecture series was published soon after under the title Living Machinery: Six Lectures (published 1927). 

Subject and flavour

• Hill used the series to explain how our bodies work — especially nerves and muscles — in plain language for young people. He covered nerves, muscles, the heart, lungs and blood, and topics such as speed, strength and endurance, often illustrated by experiments involving his children (his daughter Janet took part) and even the family dog. The published lectures carry the informal, demonstrative style typical of the Ri Christmas Lectures. 

Why it mattered

• Hill was already a prominent physiologist (shared the 1922 Nobel Prize for work on heat and mechanical work in muscle). These lectures helped translate contemporary muscle/nerve physiology to a general audience and fed into his later popular/scientific books (e.g. Muscular Activity, Muscular Movement in Man). They’re an early example of a Nobel-winning scientist doing public outreach in the Ri tradition. 

Where to read/watch

• The lectures were printed as the book Living Machinery (1927) — you can find bibliographic entries and digitized copies referenced on Google Books and in library catalogues. For a modern discussion and context, see the open-access review on Hill’s legacy (which summarizes the Ri lectures and their contents). If you want the Ri’s archival help locating original programmes or photos, the Royal Institution archives can be contacted via their website. 

Quick pointers if you want more

• Read the Living Machinery text (1927) for Hill’s original wording and demonstrations. (Google Books / academic libraries often have scans.) 

• The PMC review article summarizes the lectures’ content and places them in Hill’s career — handy if you want scholarly context. 

• The Royal Institution pages give background on the Christmas Lecture series itself and how to access their archive. 

If you’d like, I can:

• pull the book’s table of contents and short excerpts (if available online) and paste them here, or

• look up contemporary reviews (e.g. Nature, 1928) and include relevant excerpts and dates.

Which of those would be most helpful?