scholarly journals Simulation and R&D: Knowing and Making

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-49
Author(s):  
Jordan Gowanlock
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Dynamic Simulation ◽  
Nuclear Physics ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Prediction Tools ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
History Of

AbstractThis chapter of Animating Unpredictable Effects charts the development of the software tools used to create uncanny simulation-based digital animations, drawing a genealogy that starts with nineteenth century mathematics, which were transformed into management and prediction tools by private and military R&D between the 1940s and 1980s. Through this, the chapter identifies a connection between these animation tools and simulation tools used in fields as diverse as meteorology, nuclear physics, and aeronautics that create unpredictability through stochastic or dynamic simulation. Using this information, the chapter offers a theoretical framework for understanding how fictional simulations in animation and visual effects make meaning through “knowing how” as opposed to cinema’s tradition approach of “knowing that,” leveraging concepts from the history of science.

A Well-Ordered Thing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Periodic Table ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Classic Work ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. This book is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As the book reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. This book is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world's most important minds.

Physics Textbooks and Textbook Physics in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Simon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Science Education ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
History Of Physics ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
German States ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries

This article focuses on physics textbooks and textbook physics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis on developments in France, Germany, Britain, and the United States. It first examines the role that physics textbooks played in the early stages of the professionalization of the history of science before presenting a general overview of the genesis of textbook physics in the nineteenth century. It also looks at major textbooks produced in France and the German states while making some reference to British and American textbooks. Finally, it considers recent scholarship dealing with textbooks in the history of physics. The article shows how our views on textbooks have been shaped by events that have established particular hierarchies between scientific research and science education, and between universities and schools. It argues that the study of textbooks would benefit from greater reflexivity.

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