scholarly journals The museum in the lab: historical practice in the experimental sciences at Cambridge, 1874–1936

BJHS Themes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 245-271
Author(s):  
BORIS JARDINE
Keyword(s):  
Early Years ◽  
Cavendish Laboratory ◽  
Experimental Physics ◽  
James Clerk Maxwell ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Historical Practices ◽  
The Way ◽  
Historical Practice

AbstractThis paper explores the hoarding, collecting and occasional display of old apparatus in new laboratories. The first section uses a 1936 exhibition of Cambridge's scientific relics as a jumping-off point to survey the range of historical practices in the various Cambridge laboratories. This panoramic approach is intended to show the variety and complexity of pasts that scientists had used material to conjure in the years prior to the exhibition. Commerce and commemoration emerge as two key themes. The second part turns to the Cavendish Laboratory (experimental physics) to explore the highly specific senses of time and memorialization at play in the early years of the laboratory (c.1874–1910), and the way these were transformed over the subsequent generations leading up to the 1936 moment. The key figure here is James Clerk Maxwell, whose turn to history involved a mix of antiquarianism and modernism. The paper concludes with an attempt to characterize the meanings and significances of ‘the museum in the lab’. This phenomenon ought to be understood in terms of the wide range of ‘collections’ present in laboratory spaces.

The Cavendish Laboratory Archives

1953 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Annual Report ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Cavendish Laboratory ◽  
Experimental Physics ◽  
James Clerk Maxwell ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Accademia Del Cimento

Historians of modern science are beset equally by the enormous amount of material which might be at their disposal and the great difficulty there often is in ascertaining where such material is preserved. The purpose of this note is to give a preliminary account of the unusually valuable collection of letters and manuscripts which is available in the Cavendish Laboratory, and which relates, for the most part, to three of the first four Cavendish Professors of Experimental Physics. The importance of a historical collection was recognized from the earhest days of the Laboratory, and in its first annual report 1 of 1875 James Clerk Maxwell recorded the acquisition of a thermometer from the Accademia del Cimento, some drawings of lines of magnetic force by Faraday, and a collection of Maxwell’s own demonstration models. The second annual report 2 records the gift of a large collection of W . H. Wollaston’s apparatus. All this reflects the fact that at this time Maxwell was much concerned with historical studies, notably in connexion with his edition of the electrical papers of Henry Cavendish. In 1879 Mrs Maxwell presented to the Laboratory her late husband’s library (which was to serve as the nucleus of a working hbrary for the Laboratory) and with this gift there came many of Maxwell’s original MSS. of his published books and scientific papers, as well as some of his unpublished lectures and addresses. Some of Maxwell’s scientific and personal correspondence must have come with these manuscripts ; other letters probably passed into the hands of his biographers, Lewis Campbell and Wilham Garnett, 3 who later returned these letters together with many others that they had acquired in the course of their work.

The Realness of Things Past

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Way Of Life ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Primary Case ◽  
Ontological Commitments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ontological Turn ◽  
Ways Of Being ◽  
The Way ◽  
Historical Practice

The book proposes a new paradigm of historical practice. It questions the way we conventionally historicize the experiences of non-modern peoples, western and non-western, and makes a case for an alternative. It shows how our standard analytical devices impose modern, dualist metaphysical conditions upon all non-modern realities, thereby authorizing us to align those realities with our own modern ontological commitments, fundamentally altering their contents in the process. The net result is a practice that homogenizes the past’s many different ways of being human. To produce histories that are more ethically defensible, more philosophically robust, and more historically meaningful, we need to take an ontological turn in our practice. We need to cultivate a non-dualist historicism that will allow us to analyse each past reality on its own ontological terms, as a more or less autonomous world unto itself. The work is divided into three parts. To highlight the limitations of conventional historicist analysis and the need for an alternative, Part One (chapters 1-5) critically scrutinizes our standard modern accounts of the politeia (“way of life”) of classical Athens, the book’s primary case study. Part Two (chapters 6-9) draws on a wide range of historical, ethnographic, and theoretical literatures to frame ethical and philosophical mandates for the proposed ontological turn. To illustrate the historical benefits of this alternative paradigm, Part Three (chapters 10-16) then shows how it allows us to produce an entirely new and more meaningful account of the Athenian politeia. The book is expressly written to be accessible to a non-specialist, cross-disciplinary readership.

J. J. Thomson and the emergence of the Cavendish School, 1885–1990

1995 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Won Kim
Keyword(s):  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ernest Rutherford ◽  
Cavendish Laboratory ◽  
Experimental Physics ◽  
James Clerk Maxwell ◽  
Physics Community ◽  
History Of ◽  
Physics Laboratories ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Insight Into

The history of the Cavendish Laboratory is a fascinating subject to study, not just because this famous centre of experimental physics produced a large number of Nobel Laureates but also because it gives us an insight into the unique milieu of the Cambridge physics community. The evolution of the Cavendish Laboratory, however, was not as smooth as might be expected, and the prestige and reputation of its first directors – James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Rayleigh, Joseph John Thomson and Ernest Rutherford – did not automatically guarantee a rosy future. Like other British physics laboratories in the late nineteenth century, the Cavendish Laboratory was a new species to meet the pressure and demand from society. Since it propagated new values and modes of doing science, a struggle with old traditions could not be avoided, and the early history of the Cavendish Laboratory illustrates how the ‘old’ and ‘new’ values fought and negotiated each other in late Victorian Cambridge.

scholarly journals Enhance your smartphone with a Bluetooth arduino nano board

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 015015
Author(s):  
F Bouquet ◽  
G Creutzer ◽  
D Dorsel ◽  
J Vince ◽  
J Bobroff
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Physics Teaching ◽  
Bluetooth Low Energy ◽  
Experimental Physics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Way

Abstract Using smartphones in experimental physics teaching offers many advantages in terms of engagement, pedagogy and flexibility. But it presents drawbacks such as possibly endangering the device and also facing the heterogeneity of available sensors on different smartphones. We present a low-cost alternative that preserves the advantages of smartphones: using a microcontroller equipped with a large variety of sensors that transmits data to a smartphone using a Bluetooth low-energy protocol. This device can be lent to students with little risk and used to perform a wide range of experiments. It opens the way to new types of physics teachings.

The two Tabors

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Briggs ◽  
Hans Halvorson ◽  
Andrew Steane
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Important Influence ◽  
Cavendish Laboratory ◽  
James Clerk Maxwell ◽  
Personal Influence ◽  
Doctoral Work ◽  
The Doors

The book contains three autobiographical chapters, one from each of the authors. In this one Andrew Briggs (A.B.) presents some of his experiences. Professor David Tabor was an important scientific and personal influence on A.B. in his doctoral work at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. A visit to Mount Tabor in Israel gave a memorable opportunity for reflection on the connection between spiritual matters and physical, geographical matters. Another important influence was the humble Christian and great nineteenth-century physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell had a verse from Psalm 111 inscribed over the doors of the Cavendish laboratory. When the laboratory was moved into new premises, A.B. asked whether the inscription could be included. This was agreed by the relevant committee. It reads: ‘The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein’: a lovely motto for scientists.

scholarly journals Assessment of Linearization Approaches for Multibody Dynamics Formulations

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco González ◽  
Pierangelo Masarati ◽  
Javier Cuadrado ◽  
Miguel A. Naya
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical System ◽  
Multibody Dynamics ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Differential Algebraic Equations ◽  
Algebraic Equations ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Linearization Methods ◽  
Highly Nonlinear ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Way

Formulating the dynamics equations of a mechanical system following a multibody dynamics approach often leads to a set of highly nonlinear differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). While this form of the equations of motion is suitable for a wide range of practical applications, in some cases it is necessary to have access to the linearized system dynamics. This is the case when stability and modal analyses are to be carried out; the definition of plant and system models for certain control algorithms and state estimators also requires a linear expression of the dynamics. A number of methods for the linearization of multibody dynamics can be found in the literature. They differ in both the approach that they follow to handle the equations of motion and the way in which they deliver their results, which in turn are determined by the selection of the generalized coordinates used to describe the mechanical system. This selection is closely related to the way in which the kinematic constraints of the system are treated. Three major approaches can be distinguished and used to categorize most of the linearization methods published so far. In this work, we demonstrate the properties of each approach in the linearization of systems in static equilibrium, illustrating them with the study of two representative examples.

The Eurocentrism of neo-Roman republicanism and the neglect of republican empire

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 072551362110439
Author(s):  
Kevin Blachford
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
Political Liberty ◽  
Absence Of Power ◽  
Historical Practices ◽  
Republican Liberty ◽  
Historical Practice ◽  
Normative Ideals

Republicanism is an approach within political theory that seeks to secure the values of political liberty and non-domination. Yet, in historical practice, early modern republics developed empires and secured their liberty through policies that dominated others. This contradiction presents challenges for how neo-Roman theorists understand ideals of liberty and political freedom. This article argues that the historical practices of slavery and empire developed concurrently with the normative ideals of republican liberty. Republican liberty does not arise in the absence of power but is inherently connected to the exercise of power.

Scientific advice seen from the perspective of a minister of science

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Heinz Riesenhuber
Keyword(s):  
Final Outcome ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
Science Funding ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Way

Thea purpose of science funding policy is to pave the way into new territory without knowing the final outcome to be expected. This needs the input of a wide range of scientific advice in response to well defined questions. There must be a serious intention to listen and if possible act on such advice.

Content and Consistency in the Endogenous Depressive Pattern

1966 ◽  
Vol 112 (486) ◽  
pp. 471-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul H. Rosenthal ◽  
Gerald L. Klerman
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Psychotic Depression ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Manic Depressive ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Mourning And Melancholia ◽  
The Way

As currently used, the diagnosis of depression includes a wide range of clinical phenomena. This has not always been the case. Near the end of the 19th century, when the term depression began to evolve the meanings that it has today it was applied primarily to psychotics. The formulations of Freud in Mourning and Melancholia (1917), and of Kraepelin in Manic Depressive Insanity (1921) were based upon observations of patients who were both depressed and psychotic. In their work the contrast was between psychotic depression (or “melancholia”) on one hand, and normal sadness on the other. In the succeeding half-century, however, as psychiatry has extended its boundaries, increasing attention has been focused on non-psychotic depressions, often called “neurotic” or “reactive.” As these “neurotic” or “reactive” depressions reached public attention, a debate began over the way in which the depressive population should be described and the extent to which it should be subdivided. Critical and often sarcastic written battles were fought between the separatists and the unifiers during the 1920's and 1930's. These debates have been informatively chronicled by Partridge (1949). We have found it useful to divide these theorists into unifiers, dualists, and pluralists.

scholarly journals Contemporary methodology of teaching English punctuation: problems and new vistas

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
E. V. Mikhailovskaia ◽  
O. V. Sapunova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
English System ◽  
Syntactic Function ◽  
The Way

The article outlines the way the English system of punctuation marks is presented in contemporary ELT research and practice. The following types of sources are considered and analyzed in the article: grammar books for teaching English as the first, second or foreign language; reference books and web-sites aimed at preparing students for IELTS and TOEFL; books belonging to the genre known as popular science; purely scientific works on punctuation in general and the semicolon in particular. The main goals of the research are to reveal the central tendencies in teaching English punctuation on the example of the so-called weighty stops of vertical segmentation, namely the semicolon, and to see whether they manage to present a certain norm of using the stop. Thus, the present paper focuses on the semicolon one of the most controversial stops in the system, which has been proved to function both at the syntactic and stylistic levels. It is shown that a formal / grammatical approach is the most common way to treat punctuation in ELT literature; however, it does not take into account stylistic and prosodic peculiarities of the stops and thus fails to show the whole spectrum of its usage, as well as its phonetic and stylistic potential. Consequently, such an approach should not be applied to English one of the languages exhibiting a semantic-stylistic type of punctuation. It is proposed that the approach to be used in teaching English punctuation most effectively is pragmalinguistics, since it exploits a wide range of methods and means of analyzing a text, and also considers and highlights all the aspects of using the stops (their syntactic function, stylistic capacities and prosodic characteristics). Moreover, the article poses the question that the current methodology of the approach has to be further developed.

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