History of scientific instruments Research Papers (original) (raw)

Major changes took place during the last quarter of the nineteenth century in the ways that the brain tissue was maintained, manipulated and studied, and, consequently, in the ways that its structure, functions and pathologies were seen... more

Major changes took place during the last quarter of the nineteenth century in the ways that the brain tissue was maintained, manipulated and studied, and, consequently, in the ways that its structure, functions and pathologies were seen and represented in neurological literature. The paper exemplifies these changes by comparing German neuroanatomy in the 1860s and early 1870s (represented above all by Theodor Meynert) with the turn-of-the-century view of the brain (represented by Constantin von Monakow and others). It argues for the crucial importance of a method-serial sectioning-to the emergence of the new view of the brain. Serial sectioning in turn owes its existence to the new techniques in staining and sectioning that were introduced in the 1870s and 1880s. In particular, the paper highlights the role of a cutting device, the microtome, in enabling serial sectioning and in thereby contributing to the emergence of a new view of the brain.

A short monograph on a previously unrecorded Maghribi astrolabe by al-Battuti that is now part of the collections of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum. The description of the astrolabe was made by Prof. David King and the text was written by... more

A short monograph on a previously unrecorded Maghribi astrolabe by al-Battuti that is now part of the collections of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum. The description of the astrolabe was made by Prof. David King and the text was written by Laure Soustiel. The publication was commissioned by Pierre-Guilhem Métayer.

Many ways of popularization exist, e. g. publications in books and journals, lectures, exhibitions and museums, science on stage, in addition pubic observatories, planetariums, star gazing, as well as new media. In Baroque time and... more

Alcune immagini fotografiche appartengono ad archivi o pubblicazioni di cui non si conoscono autori, proprietari o committenti. La loro pubblicazione in questo volume ha uno scopo scientifico privo di finalità di lucro. L'editore resta... more

Alcune immagini fotografiche appartengono ad archivi o pubblicazioni di cui non si conoscono autori, proprietari o committenti. La loro pubblicazione in questo volume ha uno scopo scientifico privo di finalità di lucro. L'editore resta comunque disponibile a corrispondere, a chi dimostrerà di esserne titolare, eventuali diritti secondo quanto previsto dalla legge italiana. In copertina Prototipo (incompleto) di macchina volante di Marinelli (?), sec. XIX. Legno, ottone, alluminio, ferro e zinco.

La reconstitution des collections de la Faculté des Sciences de Rennes nous a permis de retrouver des appareils exceptionnels . C'est ainsi que nous avons « remis à jour » des copies anciennes des appareils de mesure utilisés par les... more

La reconstitution des collections de la Faculté des Sciences de Rennes nous a permis de retrouver des appareils exceptionnels . C'est ainsi que nous avons « remis à jour » des copies anciennes des appareils de mesure utilisés par les Curie pour étudier la radioactivité de certains corps. Dans cet article , nous présentons ces instruments exceptionnels que nous avons « redécouverts » : électroscope, balance à quartz, électromètre, balance apériodique, wattmètre,... Ces appareils datent de la période 1890-1905.
The reconstitution of the collections of the Faculty of Sciences of Rennes helped us find great devices. Thus we have "updated" old copies of the measuring devices used by Curie for studying radioactivity of certain bodies. In this article, we present these exceptional instruments we have "rediscovered" electroscope, quartz balance, electrometer, aperiodic balance, power meter, ... These devices date from the period 1890-1905.

This essay will consider the use and influence of light microscopy (and its variants) in biological cell culture. Improvements in technology generated several instruments for use by scholars in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and... more

This essay will consider the use and influence of light microscopy (and its variants) in biological cell culture. Improvements in technology generated several instruments for use by scholars in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and the microscope is one example. Beginning with the development of the microscope and tracing its prominence through the first observations in the seventeenth century, the lack of technical development in the eighteenth century, a revival in the nineteenth century, this essay will consider how the microscope became a ‘black box’ in twentieth century cell biology. To do this, the use of the light microscope and its variants will be considered in relation to cell biology and cell culture; a field of research and a technique that became increasingly important in the twentieth century, requiring light microscopy. Despite the apparent rise in understanding of cell culture techniques and the loss of light microscopy understanding and techniques, I suggest that both microscopy and cell culture have become standardised methods in modern biological science, with generally little in-depth understanding of either in the youngest generations of twenty-first century biologists.

This analytical study identifies and analyzes two innovative instruments of Persian music, Majles Ārā, and Tarab Angiz. For almost a century, the whereabouts of these two instruments had remained unknown, with no information available... more

This analytical study identifies and analyzes two innovative instruments of Persian music, Majles Ārā, and Tarab Angiz. For almost a century, the whereabouts of these two instruments had remained unknown, with no information available beyond their names. However, following the publication of my article in 2015, which identified and described the instruments in detail, one of them was discovered in the Musee de la Musique in Paris.
By examining primary sources and historical documents, I was able to provide patterns and a structural map of the instruments, which will be useful for their reconstruction in the future.

Although the observatory is one of the oldest sites dedicated to the study of the natural world, historians of science have until late been rather occupied with another much more modern site for the production of scientific knowledge, the... more

Although the observatory is one of the oldest sites dedicated to the study of the natural world, historians of science have until late been rather occupied with another much more modern site for the production of scientific knowledge, the laboratory.

En este trabajo se describe la construcción del Astrolabio Planisférico por los métodos geométricos que se utilizados en dos manuscritos españoles, que son: 1.- El "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano" incluido en el corpus de los "Libros... more

En este trabajo se describe la construcción del Astrolabio Planisférico por los métodos geométricos que se utilizados en dos manuscritos españoles, que son:
1.- El "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano" incluido en el corpus de los "Libros del Saber de Astrología" de Alfonso X de Castilla.
2.- El cuaderno sobre la Construcción del Astrolabio de Ptolomeo" incluido en el corpus llamado "Fracmentos Mathematicos" de Fr. Joseph Maria Comellas de Mallorca.
Aunque muy distanciados en el tiempo. El manuscrito del "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano" es de 1276 y el de "Fracmentos Mathematicos" es de finales del Siglo XVII, la comparación de los métodos geométricos utilizados presenta un interés especial.

Μία ενδιαφέρουσα σειρά επιστημονικών οργάνων βασίζεται στις ελαστικές ιδιότητες των αερίων και ιδιαίτερα στην εξάρτησή τους από τις μεταβολές της θερμοκρασίας. Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία, με αφορμή την παρουσία σχετικών οργάνων του 19 ου... more

Μία ενδιαφέρουσα σειρά επιστημονικών οργάνων βασίζεται στις ελαστικές ιδιότητες των αερίων και ιδιαίτερα στην εξάρτησή τους από τις μεταβολές της θερμοκρασίας. Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία, με αφορμή την παρουσία σχετικών οργάνων του 19 ου αιώνα και των αρχών του 20 ου αιώνα στα ελληνικά σχολεία της Κωνσταντινούπολης, καταδεικνύει τις αρχές λειτουργίας και την εκπαιδευτική χρήση των διαφορικών θερμομέτρων των Benjamin Thompson και John Leslie στη διδασκαλία εννοιών και φαινομένων σχετικών με τη θερμότητα σύμφωνα με διδακτικά εγχειρίδια φυσικής της εποχής. Σήμερα, ο εκπαιδευτικός μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει κάποιες διατάξεις-παιχνίδια χαμηλού κόστους που βασίζονται στις αρχές λειτουργίας των διαφορικών θερμομέτρων προσελκύοντας αποτελεσματικά το ενδιαφέρον των μαθητών. Παρουσιάζονται δύο σχετικές διατάξεις καθώς και κάποιες ιδέες για την χρήση τους στη διδασκαλία εννοιών της φυσικής.

In the large grey area between science and technology, specialisms emerge with associated specialists. But some specialisms remain ‘peripheral sciences’, never attaining the status of disciplines ensconced in universities, and their... more

In the large grey area between science and technology, specialisms emerge with associated specialists. But some specialisms remain ‘peripheral sciences’, never attaining the status of disciplines ensconced in universities, and their specialists do not become recognised professionals. A major social component of such side-lined sciences – one important grouping of techno-scientific workers – is the research-technology community. An important question concerning research-technology is to explain how the grouping survives without specialised disciplinary and professional affiliations. The case discussed illustrates the dynamics of one such community.

In 1839, the invention of photography was made public. Immediately astronomical applications were attempted. First "daguerreotypes" of Moon, Sun, and bright fixed stars were made. The first fifty years of photography are characterized by... more

In 1839, the invention of photography was made public. Immediately astronomical applications were attempted. First "daguerreotypes" of Moon, Sun, and bright fixed stars were made. The first fifty years of photography are characterized by the search for suitable methods of obtaining the most stable and lifelike image. The first successful attempt to develop and fix a photographic image -on a silver-coated copper plate (daguerreotypye) -was in 1839. In 1840, Josef Petzval (1807-1891), professor of mathematics at Vienna University, developed a portrait objective, a dublet system. Compared to Daguerre's lens, this "Petzval objective" was 22 times faster, had a larger field of view and had less aberrations. The optician Peter Wilhelm Friedrich Voigtländer (1812-1878) used it in 1841 for the first metallic camera. Also in 1839, another process was announced which allowed prints to be made from paper negatives (calotype). From 1851 a new method gained acceptance in which a glass plate was coated with a light-sensitive layer immediately before exposure (collodion wet plate process). This reduced the required exposure time to a few seconds. The new medium quickly became established in many areas of application, including especially portrait photography. But until the invention of the gelatine dry plate process , photography remained a complicated business which could only be carried out by specialists. In the 1880s this "dry plate" allowed much shorter exposure times, hence photography became widely known.

Η Ιερά Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης έχει μία πλούσια, αλλά και γεμάτη περιπέτειες ιστορία. Μία από τις πιο άγνωστες πτυχές της είναι η ύπαρξη εργαστηρίου φυσικής και η διδασκαλία του αντίστοιχου μαθήματος, κάτι όχι αυτονόητο σε μία... more

Η Ιερά Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης έχει μία πλούσια, αλλά και γεμάτη περιπέτειες ιστορία. Μία από τις πιο άγνωστες πτυχές της είναι η ύπαρξη εργαστηρίου φυσικής και η διδασκαλία του αντίστοιχου μαθήματος, κάτι όχι αυτονόητο σε μία θεολογική σχολή. Ο διασωζόμενος εξοπλισμός του εργαστηρίου είναι ιδιαίτερης επιστημονικής, ιστορικής, εκπαιδευτικής αλλά και αισθητικής αξίας. Τα περισσότερα όργανα και διατάξεις, που αποκτήθηκαν στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα, προέρχονται από σημαντικούς γαλλικούς κατασκευαστικούς οίκους, ενώ υπάρχει κι αξιόλογος εξοπλισμός που αγοράστηκε από τις Η.Π.Α. τη δεκαετία του 1950.
Στο ανά χείρας βιβλίο παρουσιάζεται αρχικά η χρονική εξέλιξη της διδασκαλίας των μαθημάτων της φυσικής και της χημείας στη Σχολή. Η συνέχεια είναι αφιερωμένη στην περιγραφή, τη χρήση και την ιστορία κάθε τμήματος του πλούσιου εξοπλισμού του εργαστηρίου, ενώ η ιστορία των κατασκευαστών ή εφευρετών που σχετίζονται με τον εξοπλισμό αυτόν παρατίθεται στα τελευταία κεφάλαια.
Ελπίζουμε πως η συγκεκριμένη μονογραφία θα αναδείξει μία ελάχιστα μελετημένη όψη της πολύχρονης λειτουργίας της Σχολής, αλλά και γενικότερα της παιδείας του Ελληνισμού της Κωνσταντινούπολης.

Η Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης αποτελεί ένα γνωστό και ιστορικό εκπαιδευτικό ίδρυμα, το οποίο επί 127 έτη παρείχε υψηλής ποιότητας παιδεία και μόρφωση σε θεολόγους, αποκτώντας ιδιαίτερη φήμη. Η απαγόρευση της λειτουργίας της το 1971 διέκοψε... more

Η Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης αποτελεί ένα γνωστό και ιστορικό εκπαιδευτικό ίδρυμα, το οποίο επί 127 έτη παρείχε υψηλής ποιότητας παιδεία και μόρφωση σε θεολόγους, αποκτώντας ιδιαίτερη φήμη. Η απαγόρευση της λειτουργίας της το 1971 διέκοψε την πορεία της Σχολής και αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό και μόνιμο σημείο τριβής στις σχέσεις Ελλάδας και Τουρκίας. Μία λιγότερο γνωστή –και ίσως απρόσμενη-πτυχή της δραστηριότητας της Σχολής αποτελεί η συμπερίληψη μαθημάτων φυσικών επιστημών στο αναλυτικό πρόγραμμά της. Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία παρουσιάζει τη χρονική εξέλιξη της διδασκαλίας των φυσικών επιστημών και της σχετικής υποδομής στη Θεολογική Σχολή, όπως αυτές διαγράφονται μέσα από τους κανονισμούς λειτουργίας και άλλα επίσημα έγγραφα.

Η διδασκαλία της πειραματικής φυσικής εισάγεται σταδιακά σε κάποια σχολεία των ελληνόφωνων κοινοτήτων στα τέλη του 18ου αιώνα και είναι αποτέλεσμα της διάδοσης των ιδεών του διαφωτισμού στις αντίστοιχες κοινότητες. Η τάση αυτή συνεχίζεται... more

Η διδασκαλία της πειραματικής φυσικής εισάγεται σταδιακά σε κάποια σχολεία των ελληνόφωνων κοινοτήτων στα τέλη του 18ου αιώνα και είναι αποτέλεσμα της διάδοσης των ιδεών του διαφωτισμού στις αντίστοιχες κοινότητες. Η τάση αυτή συνεχίζεται στο πρώτο μισό του 19ου αιώνα και γίνεται εντονότερη στη συνέχεια και ιδιαίτερα στο τελευταίο τέταρτο. Η φύση του μαθήματος οδηγεί αρκετά σχολεία στην αγορά σειράς επιστημονικών οργάνων, πολλά εκ των οποίων διασώζονται ως τις μέρες μας (για πληροφορίες βλ. Ελληνικό Αρχείο Επιστημονικών Οργάνων, www.hasi.gr ).
Ένα σημαντικό ερώτημα, που απασχολεί τον ερευνητή της εκπαίδευσης των φυσικών επιστημών τη συγκεκριμένη εποχή, είναι το αν και σε ποιον βαθμό τα αποκτηθέντα επιστημονικά όργανα χρησιμοποιήθηκαν πράγματι στη διδασκαλία. Η εργασία επικεντρώνεται σε δύο σχολεία, το 1ο Γυμνάσιο Αρρένων και τη Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή στην Κωνσταντινούπολη.

What roles have instruments played in psychology and related disciplines? How have instruments affected the dynamics of psychological research, with what possibilities and limits? What is a psychological instrument? This paper provides a... more

What roles have instruments played in psychology and related disciplines? How have instruments affected the dynamics of psychological research, with what possibilities and limits? What is a psychological instrument? This paper provides a conceptual foundation for specific case studies concerning such questions. The discussion begins by challenging widely accepted assumptions about the subject and analyzing the general relations between scientific experimentation and the uses of instruments in psychology. Building on this analysis, a deliberately inclusive definition of what constitutes a psychological instrument is proposed. The discussion then takes up the relation between instrumentation and theories, and differentiates in greater detail the roles instruments have had over the course of psychology’s history. Finally, the authors offer an approach to evaluating the possibilities and limitations of instruments in psychology.

SOMMAIRE N° 50 –MAI 2016 - (ISSN 2257-7459) NUMERO SPECIAL « LA MEDECINE DANS L’ANTIQUITE » . Editorial : 5 ans ! . Une brève histoire de la médecine antique illustrée par la philatélie (Jean-François Hutin) . L’Égypte comme modèle de la... more

SOMMAIRE N° 50 –MAI 2016 - (ISSN 2257-7459)
NUMERO SPECIAL
« LA MEDECINE DANS L’ANTIQUITE »
. Editorial : 5 ans !
. Une brève histoire de la médecine antique illustrée par
la philatélie (Jean-François Hutin)
. L’Égypte comme modèle de la science médicale dans le monde antique : Mythe ou réalité ? Enquête dans la littérature latine. (Joëlle Jouanna-Bouchet)
. Pour une introduction à la médecine égyptienne (Ri- chard-Alain Jean)
. Essai (raisonné) sur les guérisons dans les temples d’Esculape (Louis-Jean-Dupré)
. Cheiron le Centaure, inventeur de la chirurgie (André J. Fabre)
. Les cachets d’oculistes ou cachets à collyres (Jacques Voinot)
. La bourse à clystère (Jean-Pierre Martin)
. Le Cyasthique de Dioclès (Bernard Baldivia)
. Une cucurbite romaine (Henri Kugener)
. Aux sources de l’anesthésie : la mandragore magique. Approche historique et bibliophilique (Jacques Hotton)
. La phytothérapie bucco-dentaire selon Celse et Scribo- nius Largus, deux médecins de l’Antiquité (Joëlle Jouan- na-Bouchet, Xavier Riaud)
. Un Saint-Côme méconnu en Gironde (Charles Tama- relle)
En musardant sur la Toile (Bernard Petitdant) Courrier des lecteurs / nouveautés en librairie

Why does a magnet attract iron? Why does a compass needle point north? Although the magnet or lodestone was known since antiquity, magnetism only became an important topic in natural science and technology in the early modern period. In... more

Why does a magnet attract iron? Why does a compass needle point north? Although the magnet or lodestone was known since antiquity, magnetism only became an important topic in natural science and technology in the early modern period. In Magnes Christoph Sander explores this fascinating subject and draws, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of early modern research on magnetism (c. 1500–1650). Covering all disciplines of this period, Magnes examines what scholars understood by ‘magnet’ and ‘magnetism,’ which properties they ascribed to it, in which instruments and practices magnetism was employed, and how they tried to explain this exciting phenomenon. This historical panorama is based on circa 1500 historical sources, including over 100 manuscripts.

Since 1950, mathematicians have become increasingly familiar with the digital computer in their professional practice. Previously, however , many other instruments, now mostly forgotten, were commonly used to compute numerical solutions,... more

Since 1950, mathematicians have become increasingly familiar with the digital computer in their professional practice. Previously, however , many other instruments, now mostly forgotten, were commonly used to compute numerical solutions, generate geometrical objects, investigate mathematical problems, derive new results, and apply mathematics in a variety of scientific contexts. The problem of characterizing the mathematical objects that can be constructed with a given set of instruments frequently prompted deep theoretical investigations, from the Euclidean geometry of constructions with straightedge and compass, to Shannon's theorem which, in 1941, stated that the functions constructible with a differential analyzer are exactly the solutions of algebraic differential equations. Beyond these mathematical considerations , instruments should also be viewed as social objects of a given time period and cultural tradition that can amalgamate the perspectives of the inventor, the maker, the user, and the collector; in this sense, mathematical instruments are an important part of the mathematical cultural heritage and are thus widely used in many science museums to demonstrate the cultural value of mathematics to the public. This workshop brought together mathematicians, historians, philosophers, collection curators, and scholars of education to address the various approaches to the history of mathematical instruments and compare the definition and role of these instruments over time, with the following fundamental questions in mind – What is mathematical in a mathematical instrument? What kind of mathematics is involved? What does it mean to embody mathematics in a material artefact, and how do non-mathematicians engage with this kind of embodied mathematics?

Charles Darwin’s microscopical work and the instruments he used for it during his famous voyage on HMS Beagle and afterwards, have previously been discussed in depth by several scholars. Darwin himself referred to select aspects of his... more

Charles Darwin’s microscopical work and the instruments he used for it during his famous voyage on HMS Beagle and afterwards, have previously been discussed in depth by several scholars. Darwin himself referred to select aspects of his microscopy during the expedition in several of his post-journey publications. Previously, scholars have assumed that the work was performed on only one, then relatively modern type of microscope recommended to Darwin by Robert Brown. However, Darwin took with him on the voyage another microscope that has seemingly escaped the attention of scholars. This was a Withering-type botanical microscope, invented about half a century before for botanical field dissections by William Withering. An awareness of the features of that particular instrument is important as it illuminates some methodological aspects of Darwin’s early microscopy techniques, as well as illuminating a special relationship between Darwin’s ancestors and that particular instrument.

Twenty century studies and research have developed the image of Antiquity as a period of technological stagnation, not capable of producing a modern idea of progress and without relationship between science and techniques. This book gives... more

Twenty century studies and research have developed the image of Antiquity as a period of technological stagnation, not capable of producing a modern idea of progress and without relationship between science and techniques. This book gives the reader a new interpretation of Antiquity, above all of the Roman world, trying to produce a more equilibrate view focusing above all on theoretical and practical mechanical knowledge.

"This paper proposes three new (and tentatively, another two) identifications of sundials in Middle Eastern mosaics of the 5th – 8th century. The author discusses a vignette from the Holy Martyrs’ Church at Tayibat al-Imâm, central Syria,... more

"This paper proposes three new (and tentatively, another two) identifications of sundials in Middle Eastern mosaics of the 5th – 8th century. The author discusses a vignette from the Holy Martyrs’ Church at Tayibat al-Imâm, central Syria, a mosaic panel from the tomb of Georgia and Theodosia in Jerusalem, two
vignettes of Sebastis and Kastron Mefaa from the St. Stephan’s Church at Umm al-Rasas, and a vignette of Jerusalem from the St. George’s Church at Madaba. These mosaics date, respectively, to 442, to the reign of Justinian (527 –565), and to the Byzantine Umayyad era (718). According to the author, these are probably the latest representations of sundials known to date from the Late Antiquity. Until this study, only six representations of sundials on mosaics from the Roman period were known. This paper adds three new items and two hypothetical ones from Byzantine times. It also offers an interpretation of the function of the famous column in Jerusalem, shown on the map of Madaba and the mega-vignette of the Holy City.
Key words: Sundials, Sonnenhuhren, Meridiane, Cadrans solaires, Relojes de sol."