Pub Date : 2024-01-01Epub Date: 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2285845
Samuel Gessner
This paper explores the various meanings of precision during the early modern period in Europe. In contrast with existing literature focused on assessing the precision of early instruments, this study delves into the intended significance of the term 'precision' as understood by historical figures such as J. Stöffler, P. Nunes or F. Mordente. By analysing a selection of instruments equipped with scales, both in their physical form and as they are described in instrument texts, several facets of precision emerge. Some findings demonstrate that the precision of scales can be enhanced through corrections obtained from tables. In other cases, visual estimation is substituted with a method for obtaining values of multiple sexagesimal places. Furthermore, certain instruments designed to represent theoretical concepts achieve greater precision by incorporating the most intricate details of these notions. This investigation into lesser-known meanings of precision underscores the need of comprehensively exploring the concepts, the practices and the terminology surrounding precision that were in use over the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
摘要本文探讨了欧洲近代早期精确度的各种含义。与侧重于评估早期乐器精度的现有文献不同,本研究深入探讨了 J. Stöffler、P. Nunes 或 F. Mordente 等历史人物所理解的 "精度 "一词的预期意义。通过分析精选的配有刻度的乐器的实物形态以及乐器文本中的描述,我们发现了精确度的几个方面。一些研究结果表明,天平的精确度可以通过从表格中获得的修正值来提高。在另一些情况下,则可以用获取多位小数位数值的方法来代替目测。此外,某些旨在表示理论概念的工具通过纳入这些概念最复杂的细节而达到更高的精确度。对鲜为人知的精确含义的调查强调了全面探索十五和十六世纪使用的与精确有关的概念、实践和术语的必要性。
{"title":"'Si te omnimoda delectat precisio': early astronomical instruments with scales and the multiple meanings of precision in the sixteenth century.","authors":"Samuel Gessner","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2285845","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2285845","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper explores the various meanings of precision during the early modern period in Europe. In contrast with existing literature focused on assessing the precision of early instruments, this study delves into the intended significance of the term 'precision' as understood by historical figures such as J. Stöffler, P. Nunes or F. Mordente. By analysing a selection of instruments equipped with scales, both in their physical form and as they are described in instrument texts, several facets of precision emerge. Some findings demonstrate that the precision of scales can be enhanced through corrections obtained from tables. In other cases, visual estimation is substituted with a method for obtaining values of multiple sexagesimal places. Furthermore, certain instruments designed to represent theoretical concepts achieve greater precision by incorporating the most intricate details of these notions. This investigation into lesser-known meanings of precision underscores the need of comprehensively exploring the concepts, the practices and the terminology surrounding precision that were in use over the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.</p>","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138798651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01Epub Date: 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2282772
Dana Jalobeanu
The instrumental character of Francis Bacon's natural and experimental histories was often noted, but never fully investigated. In this paper I aim to reconstruct the theoretical and methodological background which supports this feature. I claim that we can read large parts of the second book of Bacon's Novum organum as a guide to laboratory practices; and that it was read in this manner by some of Bacon's seventeenth century followers. Key to this guide is Bacon's theory of prerogative instances which, in turn, provides the grounding for a whole theory of instruments of detection and instruments of measurement. I show, in particular, how Bacon suggested that such instruments can be used for 'charting' virtues and powers; a process in which instruments of detection can be transformed into instruments of measurement. I also show that Bacon's views on instruments entail an elaborated conception of measurement which departs from the ethos of artisanal perfection. Instead of pursuing the 'best results', Bacon's instrumental natural and experimental histories aim to offer a large enough corpus of correlations, estimates and calculations which, taken together, can represent more or less accurately changes and variations of natural virtues and powers.
{"title":"Francis Bacon and the practices of measurement.","authors":"Dana Jalobeanu","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2282772","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2282772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The instrumental character of Francis Bacon's natural and experimental histories was often noted, but never fully investigated. In this paper I aim to reconstruct the theoretical and methodological background which supports this feature. I claim that we can read large parts of the second book of Bacon's <i>Novum organum</i> as a guide to laboratory practices; and that it was read in this manner by some of Bacon's seventeenth century followers. Key to this guide is Bacon's theory of prerogative instances which, in turn, provides the grounding for a whole theory of instruments of detection and instruments of measurement. I show, in particular, how Bacon suggested that such instruments can be used for 'charting' virtues and powers; a process in which instruments of detection can be transformed into instruments of measurement. I also show that Bacon's views on instruments entail an elaborated conception of measurement which departs from the ethos of artisanal perfection. Instead of pursuing the 'best results', Bacon's instrumental natural and experimental histories aim to offer a large enough corpus of correlations, estimates and calculations which, taken together, can represent more or less accurately changes and variations of natural virtues and powers.</p>","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136395953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-26DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2289519
Leendert van der Miesen
Sounds are heard, sometimes even felt, but in most cases they remain unseen. This ephemeral and invisible nature of sound was already considered a problem when the science of acoustics took form in the seventeenth century. The fact that sound could not be seen was described as a significant hindrance to its understanding. But it was precisely during this time that a wide variety of sounds attracted broad scientific attention across Europe. Scholars, natural philosophers, and mathematicians investigated and experimented with sound and musical instruments and developed theories of hearing. This article looks at the role of images, diagrams, and visualization techniques in late seventeenth-century acoustics, bringing together the history of sound and the history of scientific images. Focusing on water and light as the dominant analogies for sound, the article demonstrates that visualization was an important tool for thinking about sound and allowed for the circulation of theories and experiments. At the same time, the epistemic status of these images remained contested, as there was no single model that could explain the different ways sound behaves as it moves through space and that could be visualized.
{"title":"Sound between water and light: images and analogies in early acoustics, 1660-1710.","authors":"Leendert van der Miesen","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2289519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2289519","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sounds are heard, sometimes even felt, but in most cases they remain unseen. This ephemeral and invisible nature of sound was already considered a problem when the science of acoustics took form in the seventeenth century. The fact that sound could not be seen was described as a significant hindrance to its understanding. But it was precisely during this time that a wide variety of sounds attracted broad scientific attention across Europe. Scholars, natural philosophers, and mathematicians investigated and experimented with sound and musical instruments and developed theories of hearing. This article looks at the role of images, diagrams, and visualization techniques in late seventeenth-century acoustics, bringing together the history of sound and the history of scientific images. Focusing on water and light as the dominant analogies for sound, the article demonstrates that visualization was an important tool for thinking about sound and allowed for the circulation of theories and experiments. At the same time, the epistemic status of these images remained contested, as there was no single model that could explain the different ways sound behaves as it moves through space and that could be visualized.</p>","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139037345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2282784
Boris Jardine
This paper examines the role of mathematical instrument makers in establishing a public culture of precision measurement in early-modern England. I argue that this culture was promoted through tria...
{"title":"The social life of precision instruments: artisans’ trials in early-modern England, 1550–1700","authors":"Boris Jardine","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2282784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2282784","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the role of mathematical instrument makers in establishing a public culture of precision measurement in early-modern England. I argue that this culture was promoted through tria...","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138690130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-14DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2282787
Rossella Baldi
Precision was not a quality expected from ordinary watches in the eighteenth century, which required specific maintenance to function correctly. The precautions to be taken to ensure the accuracy o...
{"title":"How to ensure a chronometer’s accuracy. Josiah Emery timekeepers and their users","authors":"Rossella Baldi","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2282787","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2282787","url":null,"abstract":"Precision was not a quality expected from ordinary watches in the eighteenth century, which required specific maintenance to function correctly. The precautions to be taken to ensure the accuracy o...","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138690058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2290187
Christopher D. Hollings
Between December 1855 and March 1856, a public dispute raged, in British national newspapers and locally published pamphlets, between two teachers at the University of Oxford: the mathematical lect...
{"title":"Oxford mathematics at a low ebb? An 1855 dispute over examination results","authors":"Christopher D. Hollings","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2290187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2290187","url":null,"abstract":"Between December 1855 and March 1856, a public dispute raged, in British national newspapers and locally published pamphlets, between two teachers at the University of Oxford: the mathematical lect...","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138568112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2289540
Marco Beretta
This essay focuses on an unknown Latin translation of Georg Ernst Stahl's treatise on the nature of sulfur (Zufällige Gedancken und Nützliche Bedencken über den Streit von dem so genannten Sulfure)...
这篇文章的重点是格奥尔格-恩斯特-施塔尔(Georg Ernst Stahl)关于硫磺性质的论文(Zufällige Gedancken und Nützliche Bedencken über den Streit von dem so genannten Sulfure)的佚名拉丁文译本。
{"title":"Stahl in France: an unknown Latin translation of the Zufällige Gedancken und nützliche Bedencken über den Streit, von dem so genannten Sulfure (1718) owned by Étienne-François Geoffroy, Jean Hellot and Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier","authors":"Marco Beretta","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2289540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2289540","url":null,"abstract":"This essay focuses on an unknown Latin translation of Georg Ernst Stahl's treatise on the nature of sulfur (Zufällige Gedancken und Nützliche Bedencken über den Streit von dem so genannten Sulfure)...","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138579373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-08DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2289535
Olivier Morizot
In his ‘Theory of Light and Colours’, presented to the Royal Society in November 1801, Thomas Young defended a mechanical explanation of the coloured fringes observed outside of the shadow of an op...
{"title":"David Brewster’s and William Herschel’s experiments on inflection that delivered the coup de grâce to Thomas Young’s ether distribution hypothesis","authors":"Olivier Morizot","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2289535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2289535","url":null,"abstract":"In his ‘Theory of Light and Colours’, presented to the Royal Society in November 1801, Thomas Young defended a mechanical explanation of the coloured fringes observed outside of the shadow of an op...","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138563271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-17DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2266443
Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis
Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes1 Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Die Entwicklung des Meridiankreises 1700-1850: Genesis eines astronomischen Hauptinstrumentes unter Berücksichtigung des Wechselverhältnisses zwischen Astronomie, Astro-Technik und Technik (Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 1996).2 Thyra Eibe and Kristine Bjerrum Meyer, eds, Ole Rømers Adversaria (København: Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri, 1910).3 Friedrichsen, Per, and Chr. Gorm Tortzen, eds, Ole Rømer. Korrespondance og afhandlinger samt et udvalg af dokumenter (København: Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab, 2001).4 Tybjerb, Karin, and others, eds, Ole Rømer. I kongens og videnskabens tjeneste (Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2011); Tybjerg, Karin, ‘Cosmos and Cogwheels—The Work of Ole Rømer (1644–1710)’, Centaurus 54-1 (2012).
点击放大图片点击缩小图片注释1 Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Die Entwicklung des Meridiankreises 1700-1850: Genesis eines astronomischen Hauptinstrumentes unter Berücksichtigung des Wechselverhältnisses zwischen Astronomie, Astro-Technik und Technik (Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 1996)。2 Thyra Eibe 和 Kristine Bjerrum Meyer 编辑,《Ole Rømer's Adversaria》(København:Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri,1910 年)。Korrespondance og afhandlinger samt et udvalg af dokumenter (København: Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab, 2001).4 Tybjerb, Karin, and others, eds, Ole Rømer.I kongens og videnskabens tjeneste (Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2011); Tybjerg, Karin, 'Cosmos and Cogwheels-The Work of Ole Rømer (1644-1710)', Centaurus 54-1 (2012).
{"title":"Ole Rømer’s Triduum vol. I–III <b>Ole Rømer’s Triduum vol. I–III</b> , edited by Claus Fabricius, Niels Therkel Jørgensen and Chr Gorm Tortzen, Copenhagen, Society for Danish Language and Literature, 2023, 234+473+112 pp. 11 plts., 799 DKK (Hardback), ISBN: 978-87-7533-060-7","authors":"Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2266443","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2023.2266443","url":null,"abstract":"Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes1 Klaus-Dieter Herbst, Die Entwicklung des Meridiankreises 1700-1850: Genesis eines astronomischen Hauptinstrumentes unter Berücksichtigung des Wechselverhältnisses zwischen Astronomie, Astro-Technik und Technik (Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 1996).2 Thyra Eibe and Kristine Bjerrum Meyer, eds, Ole Rømers Adversaria (København: Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri, 1910).3 Friedrichsen, Per, and Chr. Gorm Tortzen, eds, Ole Rømer. Korrespondance og afhandlinger samt et udvalg af dokumenter (København: Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab, 2001).4 Tybjerb, Karin, and others, eds, Ole Rømer. I kongens og videnskabens tjeneste (Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2011); Tybjerg, Karin, ‘Cosmos and Cogwheels—The Work of Ole Rømer (1644–1710)’, Centaurus 54-1 (2012).","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135993140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-02DOI: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2235364
Plamena Panayotova
As a style of writing and a form of communication, the modern scientific report enables the creation, sharing and continuous updating of natural knowledge in such a manner that the idiosyncrasies of ordinary language are reduced to a minimum. This article examines how the standards for scientific reporting were 'born' in the seventeenth century and their legacy. The first part of the article reviews the existing literature on this topic. The second part outlines the key features of the scientific report and the common standards for scientific reporting. The third part presents detailed historical evidence to trace the emergence of these standards in seventeenth-century England. The final part discusses why the scientific report means so much for the progress of science, for understanding the history of science and science popularization, and even for the development of academia more generally.
{"title":"Inventing the language of <i>Things</i>: the emergence of scientific reporting in seventeenth-century England.","authors":"Plamena Panayotova","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2235364","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00033790.2023.2235364","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As a style of writing and a form of communication, the modern scientific report enables the creation, sharing and continuous updating of natural knowledge in such a manner that the idiosyncrasies of ordinary language are reduced to a minimum. This article examines how the standards for scientific reporting were 'born' in the seventeenth century and their legacy. The first part of the article reviews the existing literature on this topic. The second part outlines the key features of the scientific report and the common standards for scientific reporting. The third part presents detailed historical evidence to trace the emergence of these standards in seventeenth-century England. The final part discusses why the scientific report means so much for the progress of science, for understanding the history of science and science popularization, and even for the development of academia more generally.</p>","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9923542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}