Showing papers in "Annals of Science in 1991"
TL;DR: A culture of mathematics was developed in sixteenth-century England, the culture of "the mathematicalls" as discussed by the authors, who self-consciously used mathematical instruments as key resources in negotiating their own roles.
Abstract: Summary A new culture of mathematics was developed in sixteenth-century England, the culture of ‘the mathematicalls’. Its representatives were the self-styled mathematical practitioners who presented their art as a practical and worldly activity. The careers of two practitioners, Thomas Bedwell and Thomas Hood, are used as case studies to examine the establishment of this culture of the mathematicalls. Both practitioners self-consciously used mathematical instruments as key resources in negotiating their own roles. Bedwell defined his role in contrast to mechanicians and he secured patronage in military engineering and the service of the commonwealth; Hood worked in the commercial setting of London as a teacher, author, chartmaker, and retailer. Working in new contexts and dealing with new audiences of gentlemen and mechanicians, Bedwell and Hood used instruments to construct a public consensus on the status and aims of mathematics.
71 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the logical structure of Newton's outline of the Principia, as well as the details that this outline omits, and found that Newton's argument does indeed contain a flaw, but it is a minor omission rather than a serious logical error.
Abstract: Summary Physicists and historians of science have always held that Isaac Newton should receive credit for the first proof that inverse-square orbits must be conics. This conviction derives from a brief argument, regarded as essentially correct, given by Newton in the Principia. Recently, however, it has been contended that this outline or sketch contains irreparable logical flaws. Here, the logical structure of this outline of Newton's, as well as the details that this outline omits, are carefully examined. We find that whilst his argument does indeed contain a flaw, it is a minor omission rather than a serious logical error. Having rectified this omission, we show how Newton's outline expands into a convincing proof that inverse-square orbits must be conics.
41 citations
TL;DR: The origin, character, and reception of the Development Act of 1909 are described in this paper, and several evaluations of its historical significance are presented and criticized, and it is claimed that the significance of the Act for the promotion of scientific research in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry has been largely overlooked.
Abstract: Summary The origin, character, and reception of the Development Act of 1909 are described Extant evaluations of its historical significance are presented and criticized It is claimed that the significance of the Act for the promotion of scientific research in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry has been largely overlooked The way in which the Commissioners of the Act interpreted their brief by establishing scholarships, new research institutes, and developing existing institutes is described
35 citations
TL;DR: The origins and development of J. Thomson's chemical thought, and the reception of his theories by chemists were examined in this article, where the authors examined the origins and evolution of Thomson's chemistry thought and his influence on chemists during the years 1903 to 1923.
Abstract: Summary This article examines the origins and development of J. J. Thomson's chemical thought, and the reception of his theories by chemists. Thomson's interest in chemical combination and atomic theories of matter dates from his formative schooldays at Owens College, Manchester. These themes constituted a persistent leitmotif in the development of Thomson's style of thought, and provided a powerful stimulus which enabled him to enunciate the concept of electrons as fundamental particles. Thomson's influence on chemists during the years 1903 to 1923 reflects the richness and fertility of his chemical thought. He influenced the absorption of the Victorian physical tradition by American chemists, thus adding a mechanistic, picture-embedded style to theoretical chemistry. Thomson's style of thought resonated with the needs of American chemists, but was ignored in Germany.
29 citations
TL;DR: The Depot general de la Guerre, charge de fournir les cartes necessaires aux armees, connut sous la Revolution une periode d'instabilite, se heurta a la rivalite d'autres institutions civiles and militaires as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Le Depot general de la Guerre, charge de fournir les cartes necessaires aux armees, connut sous la Revolution une periode d'instabilite. La politique ambitieuse de Calon, son directeur, se heurta a la rivalite d'autres institutions civiles et militaires. Une periode de lente reconstruction s'ouvrit avec le pouvoir napoleonien qui posa les bases rationnelles de la cartographie moderne et mit fin a la precarite du statut des ingenieurs-geographes en militarisant leur corps. La creation simultanee d'une Ecole d'application des ingenieurs-geographes assura des lors une formation coherente et de haut niveau dans le sillage de l'Ecole polytechnique, remplacant les cours crees au Depot par Calon qui avaient jusqu'alors conserve jalousement leur autonomie. Puissant, qui y fut pendant vingt ans le professeur de mathematiques, introduisit l'analyse a l'ecole. Son œuvre fut consacree par son election a l'Academie des Sciences au siege de Laplace et par le succes de la nouvelle carte de France au 1/80 000. L'ensemble de la periode est marque par la prise de conscience des enjeux de la geographie, par la mise en place des outils scientifiques de la cartographie et par la professionnalisation des ingenieurs-geographes. Disposant de son ecole et de son journal au meme titre que les grands corps techniques, le Depot general de la Guerre etait alors, entre l'Ecole polytechnique et le Bureau des Longitudes, une institution savante reconnue par la communaute scientifique.
29 citations
TL;DR: In the late sixteenth century, a number of mathematicians tried to introduce geometrical methods into surveying practice, to be based on simplified astronomical instruments, angle measurement, and triangulation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Summary In the late sixteenth century a number of mathematicians tried to introduce geometrical methods into surveying practice, to be based on simplified astronomical instruments, angle measurement, and triangulation. A measure of success is indicated by the acceptance of the simple (azimuth only) theodolite, but the surveyors resisted such complex instruments as the altazimuth theodolite, recipiangle, and trigonometer. Counter-proposals, in particular the plane table, threatened to undermine the geometrical programme, but by the mid-seventeenth century a stable compromise had evolved. Among other things, the demise of the shadow square indicates that angle measurement was then part of surveying practice.
13 citations
TL;DR: The evidence for the use of scientific and mathematical instruments from tenth-century Kiev Rus' to the death of Peter the Great in 1725 and the literature devoted to the subject is surveyed.
Abstract: Summary This paper surveys the evidence for the use of scientific and mathematical instruments from tenth-century Kiev Rus' to the death of Peter the Great in 1725 and the literature devoted to the subject. The evidence is extremely sparse before the sixteenth century; in the seventeenth century there is more, both in the form of artefacts, either local or imported, and texts; at the end of the seventeenth century and in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, Peter the Great opted for complete Westernization, and both by edict and by creating a need for their products in effect established the instrument making and scientific book publishing trades in Russia.
11 citations
TL;DR: In 1736, the French astronomer La Condamine, sent to Peru to measure an arc of the meridian, decided to return to France by way of the River Amazon, mapping the river and collecting observations of all sorts as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Summary The French astronomer La Condamine, sent to Peru to measure an arc of the meridian in 1736, decided to return to France by way of the River Amazon, mapping the river and collecting observations of all sorts. This intention was over-optimistic and the circumstances of the journey prevented La Condamine from gathering much new information or undertaking the necessary observations to improve existing maps. He published three popular versions of the journey but witheld most of the observations that he did make for a later report which was never written. His journals are now lost, but his aims and achievements can be assessed from contemporary documents and the collation of his three accounts.
10 citations
TL;DR: The name of Robert Mallet was once inevitably associated with the scientific study of earthquakes, but it is less well known today as mentioned in this paper, and the name of Mallet's major seismological projects and publications, emphasizing his theoretical contributions.
Abstract: Summary Though the name of Robert Mallet was once inevitably associated with the scientific study of earthquakes, it is less well known today. As part of an overdue reappraisal, this essay examines Mallet's major seismological projects and publications, emphasizing his theoretical contributions. Mallet's own claim to be a founder of modern seismology is upheld. Beyond that, however, he is also seen to be an important precursor of plate tectonics.
10 citations
TL;DR: The physical oceanography of the Pacific was poorly known as late as the end of the 1930s as discussed by the authors, owing to the scale of the enterprise, the low scientific abilities of Pacific nations, and the lack of a compelling need.
Abstract: Summary By comparison with the Atlantic Ocean, the physical oceanography of the Pacific was poorly known as late as the end of the 1930s. International collaboration to study the Pacific, attempted by oceanography committees of the Pacific Science Association, was a failure, owing to the scale of the enterprise, the low scientific abilities of the Pacific nations, and the lack of a compelling need. Even in the U.S.A., where the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (founded in 1903 under another name) was active, lack of good ships and personnel reduced the effectiveness of Pacific oceanography. Scripps's physical oceanographer George F. McEwen was more physicist than physical oceanographer; he also became side-tracked into climatology. Only with the arrival of H. U. Sverdrup at Scripps in 1936 did Pacific physical oceanography begin to prosper, but its greatest success followed World War II, when techniques and approaches transplanted from the Atlantic became established.
9 citations
TL;DR: Tait, the loyal Scot, thus inadvertently contributed to what might be termed the Anglicization of Scottish natural philosophy as mentioned in this paper, and made energy theory the centre-piece of his course there.
Abstract: Summary Though P. G. Tait was in a seemingly perfect position to teach both William Thomson's thermodynamics and James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light, he did not. Tait probably first encountered the new thermodynamics in the 1850s at Queen's College, Belfast, and presented the ideas in his inaugural lecture at Edinburgh in 1860, soon making energy theory the centre-piece of his course there. The comprehensiveness of energy theory plus Thomson's opposition to Maxwell's electromagnetic theory evidently combined in causing Tait to de-emphasize Maxwell's theory. Ironically, Tait, the loyal Scot, thus inadvertently contributed to what might be termed the Anglicization of Scottish natural philosophy.
TL;DR: The early history of the treatment of petroleum distillate by alkaline plumbite solution can be traced back to 1866 when it was introduced in Germany by Rudolf Wagner as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Summary During a period of about four decades following World War I, gasoline was often deodorized at refineries by treatment with alkaline solutions of lead oxide, a procedure generally denoted ‘doctor sweetening’. Contemporary accounts describe it as old, but are generally vague about its origin. This paper traces the early history of the treatment of petroleum distillate by alkaline plumbite solution, dating back to 1866 when it was introduced in Germany by Rudolf Wagner. After 1869, this procedure became the preferred method for deodorizing Canadian kerosene and other petroleum products which were afflicted by unusually high sulphur content. Subsequently, Hermann Frasch improved on this method by distilling the afflicted petroleum in the presence of solid metal oxides.
TL;DR: The controversy over the origin of the Yosemite valley was first raised by J. D. Whitney as mentioned in this paper, who advocated a tectonic theory of its origin, despite its seemingly official status, and failed to convince some of his own subordinates.
Abstract: Summary Though virtually unknown before 1851, the exceptionally scenic Yosemite Valley of California soon attracted continuing attention as a geological anomaly. J. D. Whitney, state geologist and Harvard professor, advocated a tectonic theory of its origin. Despite its seemingly official status, Whitney's theory even failed to convince some of his own subordinates. An unexpectedly effective dissenter not associated with Whitney was John Muir, then a tatterdemalion vagrant. Though the two men never met, conflict between their inflexible and mutually exclusive geological theories persisted well into the twentieth century. Eventually, both dogmatists were proved wrong, but Muir had come closer to what we now accept. Several geological and geomorphological issues of importance entered into later discussions of Yosemite. The whole controversy, moreover, illuminates such further issues as the influence of preconceptions on theorizing, the role of authority in science, and the interactions of professionals with...
TL;DR: In this article, the development of researches on thermo- and galvanomagnetic effects in Italy between 1911 and 1926 has been studied by taking into account several factors: a partial isolation of the Italian physics community; its delay in adopting the microscopic and statistical approach to the conduction properties of metals; a choice of a dualistic theory of conduction (based on two charge carriers) in a context of a predominance of theories in which the only mobile carrier was the electron; and an epistemological stand that considered the theory-experiment relation more relevant than the theory's compatibility
Abstract: Summary The development of researches on thermo- and galvanomagnetic effects in Italy between 1911 and 1926 has been studied by taking into account several factors: a partial isolation of the Italian physics community; its delay in adopting the microscopic and statistical approach to the conduction properties of metals; a choice of a dualistic theory of conduction (based on two charge carriers) in a context of a predominance of theories in which the only mobile carrier was the electron; and an epistemological stand that considered the theory-experiment relation more relevant than the theory's compatibility with background knowledge.
TL;DR: In this article, the history of the Tarporley footprints is outlined and the possibility that two footprints from the second find are included in the collections of the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, is considered.
Abstract: Summary In 1838, Sir Philip Egerton described a new type of fossil footprint from the Triassic sandstones of Tarporley, Cheshire, which he called Chirotherium herculis. The following year he reported a second find of the same type of footprints in Chester. The subsequent history of the Tarporley footprints is outlined and the possibility that two footprints from the second find are included in the collections of the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, is considered. The existence of a tracing made in 1839 when the footprints were found provides proof that they do not correspond to the Grosvenor Museum's specimens.
TL;DR: A detailed account of the prehistory of the KEK National Laboratory for High Energy Physics at Tsukuba in Japan is given in this paper, where an examination of the debate and decision-making processes, which spanned over a decade, provide insight into the political aspects of policy making in the post-war period.
Abstract: Summary This paper provides a detailed account of the prehistory of the KEK National Laboratory for High Energy Physics at Tsukuba in Japan. Attempts to establish Japan's first truly national laboratory marked the beginning of ‘big science’ in Japan. An examination of the debate and decision-making processes, which spanned over a decade, provide insight into the political aspects of policy making in the post-war period. History shows that even in Japan, self-interest has taken precedence over group interests in lobbying for research funds for science.
TL;DR: In this paper, Murchison et al. described early geological investigations in the St David's area (Pembrokeshire) are described, particularly the work of Murali et al., who regarded a ridge of rocks at StDavid's as intrusive in unfossiliferous Cambrian; and the early Survey mapping (chiefly the work by Aveline and Ramsay) was conducted on that assumption.
Abstract: Summary Early geological investigations in the St David's area (Pembrokeshire) are described, particularly the work of Murchison. In a reconnaissance survey in 1835, he regarded a ridge of rocks at St David's as intrusive in unfossiliferous Cambrian; and the early Survey mapping (chiefly the work of Aveline and Ramsay) was conducted on that assumption, leading to the publication of maps in 1845 and 1857. The latter represented the margins of the St David's ridge as ‘Altered Cambrian’. So the supposedly intrusive ‘syenite’ was regarded as younger, and there was no Precambrian. These views were challenged by a local doctor, Henry Hicks, who developed an idea of the ex-Survey palaeontologist John Salter that the rocks of the ridge were stratified and had formed a Precambrian island, round which Cambrian sediments (now confirmed by fossil discoveries) had been deposited. Hicks subsequently proposed subdivision of his Precambrian into ‘Dimetian’, ‘Pebidian’, and (later) ‘Arvonian’, and he attempted correlation...
TL;DR: In this article, the uniqueness of Japanese economic history has been analyzed in terms of overarching ‘cultural’ imperatives, and the following paper utilizes key episodes in the transition of the Japane...
Abstract: Often enough, the uniqueness of Japanese economic history has been analysed in terms of overarching ‘cultural’ imperatives. The following paper utilizes key episodes in the transition of the Japane...
TL;DR: The use of mathematical and astronomical instruments played an important part in the development of Jonas Moore's career as mentioned in this paper, and his belief in the inseparability of mathematical practice from theory meant that, for him, instruments continued to offer a means of putting certain knowledge into practical effect.
Abstract: Summary The use of mathematical and astronomical instruments played an important part in the development of Jonas Moore's career. Though debates about the nature of mathematics raised questions about the value of instruments, they remained essential to his work as a teacher, as Surveyor of the Fens and as Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. His confidence in them was most fully expressed in his equipping of the Royal Observatory and in his textbook for Christ's Hospital Mathematical School. His belief in the inseparability of mathematical practice from theory meant that, for him, instruments continued to offer a means of putting certain knowledge into practical effect.
TL;DR: The broad analysis made by Home and Watanabe of the development of physics in Australia during the period from 1914 to 1945 is generally accepted; however, details relating to the backgrounds of certain of these developments are questioned.
Abstract: Summary The broad analysis made by Home and Watanabe of the development of physics in Australia during the period from 1914 to 1945 is generally accepted; however, details relating to the backgrounds of certain of these developments are questioned.
TL;DR: An analysis of the work of four leading natural historians of the Southern tidewater suggests that their region participated in this development by shifting scientific ties and allegiances from Europe to the North rather than by creating national or regional scientific institutions.
Abstract: Summary A national scientific community developed in the United States following the American Revolution. The independent scientific societies, journals and other institutions that formed the basis of this community were, however, centred in the North. An analysis of the work of four leading natural historians of the Southern tidewater (two from before the Revolution and two from after it) suggests that their region participated in this development by shifting scientific ties and allegiances from Europe to the North rather than by creating national or regional scientific institutions.