The Voices of Science Past

NO. 95: JUNE 2011

ISSN: 1751-8261

Contents The Voices of Science Past Feature article 1 Tom Lean discusses An Oral History of British Science BSHS News 4 Viewpoint 6 Object of the Issue 7 Where Watt Worked 8 Review - book 9 Museo Galileo 10 Review - exhibition 11 CERN archive 12 Conference Report 13 The Questionnaire 14 BJHS, Viewpoint, BSHS info. 16

Editorial

I How should we remember, record, narrate and display the history of science? Questions of scientific heritage and memory underpin this issue, as a range of contributors analyse the objects, myths, and life-stories that are so crucial to our discipline. We hear from the Oral History of British Sci- ence team based at the British Library about how they are capturing the lives and tales of scientists and engineers; and from the Science Museum about how to recreate James Watt’s workshop. The winners of the Outreach and Education Committee’s recent Great Exhibitions! competition, Museo Galileo in Florence, introduce their revamped collections. The Viewpoint opinion-piece argues for historians of science to take charge of the popular imagination; and our object of the issue column asks how can you exhibit a giant Russian supercomputer? Sophie Forgan is our interviewee. Plus there is the latest news from the Interviewee Richard West (background - middle) and Dick Grove (foreground) taking a Society, including the launch of a BSHS core sample of Kentmere diatomite deposits, Lake District, early 1950s. For detailed Monograph, a report from the 2011 post- explanation of photograph, see C1379/34, Track 12. Photo © Richard West. graduate conference, the HotSpots schools’ competition, and more. My particular thanks go to Charlie Con- Directed by National Life Stories at the British taries, comparatively little of this material is nelly and Emily Hankin for their help in Library, An Oral History of British Science easily available. Compared to the efforts of or- putting together this issue. Contributions aims to record the life stories of scientists, ganisations in America, such as the American to the next issue should be sent to news- engineers and others involved with British sci- Institute of Physics and the Chemical Heritage [email protected] by 15th August 2011. ence and technology. Although many figures Foundation, there has not been the same con- from the history of science and technology in certed, national level effort in Britain to record Britain have been interviewed already for as- scientists in their own words and make their Melanie Keene, Editor sorted purposes, such as books and documen- stories available for research. 2 Viewpoint No. 95

An Oral History of British Science will cre- issues. We’ll identify subjects, projects and working life contextualised through discus- ate a major new archive of science-related places of interest and the people connected sion of childhood, education, beliefs, family, life stories, accessible at the British Library to them. We’ll also consult others who already hobbies and outside interests too. There are and via the internet. Over the next few years know the area, such as heritage groups and obviously similarities with written biogra- the project will collect 200 audio interviews, museum curators. Sometime interviews ‘snow- phies, but how many scientists ask questions typically between 8 and 15 hours in length, ball’ off each other, when interviewees them- of themselves in their memoirs that a historian with a variety of individuals linked with sci- selves suggest other potential interviewees. would? How many scientific biographers ence and technology in Britain. The project Choosing from the list of possibles is never get the chance to really know their subjects is split into four themed strands, of which easy, it’s a hard choice between a lot of personally? two are currently underway, with funding interesting looking people. The decisions are The life history interview with the scientist from Arcadia (http://www.arcadiafund. made by the science project team as a whole, is something between these two things. It’s org.uk/) and the 1851 Commission. ‘Made with the guidance of the project’s advisory an opportunity to record a scientist’s life and in Britain’, for which I am the interviewer, is committee, including historians of science and work in their own words, but shaped through concerned with individuals from technol- actual scientists. As we’re dealing with unique conversation with an interested third party ogy, engineering and the applied sciences. individuals there is no hard and fast rule for with a different outlook to the scientist them- ‘A Changing Planet’, the responsibility of Dr who we will interview. Rather, we have a set selves. Just how much of different outlook? Paul Merchant, considers the development of of guiding concerns. Obviously in any area Well, as one of my interviewees remarked the earth sciences. The two as yet unfunded there are certain ‘key’ people who leap out for during a recent interview, “Good Lord, how on strands are: ‘Cosmologies’, which will consider inclusion. However, our aim isn’t just to record earth does your mind work to ask a question new systems of thought that have emerged key players, but to get a deeper collection of about that?” Mostly we will record interviews in correspondence with the development viewpoints including everyone from profes- in a persons home, a comfortable environ- of theoretical fields such as mathematical sors to lab technicians. We’re also distributing ment for them and a further insight into the physics, astronomy, and high-energy physics; interviews around the various fields of science interviewee for the interviewer. The interviews and ‘The Factory of Life’, which will explore and engineering, and making sure that we are recorded over several sessions, using top the transformations in biomedicine, how new cover a variety of sites of scientific activity. of the range digital audio equipment. The technologies have changed medical practices Ultimately we’re aiming for representation of typical 8 to 15 hour interview results in a tran- and provide a new understanding of biologi- the breadth and depth of scientific activity script of comparable size to the average PhD cal objects. in Britain, creating a collection of interviews thesis. Multiply that by 200, and the size of the which will be useful for many different pur- eventual resource becomes clear. Who Are We Interviewing? poses in the future. Supplementing the audio recordings we are The project began with a scoping study, also carrying out a smaller number of video researched by Dr Simone Turchetti from the What do we talk about? and group interviews. The group interviews University of Manchester. Included in this was In common with other National Life Stories will bring together an interviewee with former a starting list of possible interviewees across projects, An Oral History of British Science colleagues, and should bring out a sense the various fields of science and engineering. uses a life story interview approach. Rather of how science is a collaborative activity, as As we approach each new topic of the project than just focusing on a particular period in a well as allowing an insight into the collective Paul Merchant and myself carry out our own person’s life, we aim to record a much broader memory of groups of individuals who worked research to give us a feel for the area and its impression of them as a person, with their together. For the video interviews we decided

“...there were a lot of strange things actually Geologist Janet Thomson remembers her A Changing Planet in those first months. I always remember exclusion from British Antarctic Survey that Bernard Lovell was trying to track the fieldwork in Antarctica: Paul Merchant is capturing stories of key rocket of the first Sputnik with his telescope developments in the Earth Sciences includ- at Jodrell Bank ... Of course this rocket could ‘... I thought it was daft that somebody... ing the influence of physics on glaciology be seen with the naked eye, and there were should be expected to work on samples (Charles Swithinbank, John Nye, John Glen), quite a lot of occasions when he would ring that hadn’t been collected by that person. the formulation of the theory of plate me up and ask…can you observe it again ...And I was also cross because there was tectonics (Fred Vine, Dan McKenzie, Mary and give me the correction? I remember the gender issue that was sort of dawning Almond), the use of isotopes to date events doing it once when I was at Seaford with my on me really [laughs] and I thought that in the life of rocks (Stephen Moorbath), parents, they got this phone call from Profes- was stupid too, so I wanted to go for the the role of satellites in observing the Earth sor Lovell [laughs] and I went right up on the reason of seeing it for myself, that par- and its atmosphere (Desmond King-Hele, top of the cliffs, I remember, to get no light so ticular location, but also going because Sir John Houghton), the discovery of the that I’d make sure I saw it. ...So I was able to they shouldn’t stop me [laughs] because ozone ‘hole’ (Joseph Farman), the use of give him another prediction and then he was I’m a woman, you know, I think that was instrumentation in oceanography (Sir An- able to observe it again and – with the new the start of feeling that it was a rather thony Laughton, Philip Woodworth, Melvyn observation, that allowed him to look at it improper segregation of scientists, be- Mason) and the rise of interest in climate the next night as well. ...He would come on cause [being] male or female depended, history and change (Dick Grove, Richard the radio and said, ‘yes, we observed it again’ you know, whether they could go to the West, John Kington, James Lovelock, Chris sort of thing and so he gave the impression Antarctic or not.’ Rapley). that they were on top of the job [laughs]. He [C1379/20] didn’t say he had to phone me up and ask Satellite orbit analysis pioneer Desmond me where it was [laughs].” Janet was finally allowed to join a geological King-Hele recalling experiences of observing [C1379/13] cruise along the Antarctic Peninsula in 1983. Sputnik 1: Viewpoint No. 95 3

Made in Britain short interview with metallurgist and former Scientific manager Roy Gibson on a call to Government Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Alan the Atomic Energy Agency in the aftermath Made in Britain initially focussed on com- Cottrell. of the Windscale Fire. puting, including interviews with software “I remember a policeman ringing up one entrepreneur Dame Stephanie ‘Steve’ Programmer Frank Land recalling the intrica- night... ‘I am sergeant so and so and I Shirley, Manchester computer pioneers Ge- cies of learning to program the LEO computer have in my left hand a steel bullet-like off Toothill, Dai Edwards and Tony Brooker in the 1950s: thing that has a label on it - “RADIOAC- and programmers Mary Coombs and Frank “One of the lessons we learnt immediately, TIVE.”’ ‘Oh, yes. Where did you find it?’ Land who worked on the famous Lyons instantly, is that you could not go on the ‘One of my beat men picked it up on the tea shops’ LEO computers. More recently machine without having your program, street.’ ‘Oh, I see. Is there anything else the strand has moved onto aeronautical what you’d written down, checked. And that on the label?’ ‘Wait a minute. Yes, it engineering. Bob Parkinson, John Scott- discipline of checking every program before has the word Curie on it.’ ‘Oh, yes. Does Scott and Roy Dommett have discussed it went on to the computer lasted through- it have any number on it?’ ‘Yes, Curie, Britain’s little-known space and rocket out my days at LEO, became much less im- 150000 and then Curie with an S on the programmes, Roy Gibson his time as first portant at the time when the balance shifted end. What should I do?’ I said, ‘Well, at director of the European Space Agency. between the valuable thing being human a rough guess either it’s a hoax of you’ve Ralph Hooper has talked about his work time, as against machine time. But at that been dead for the last two hours. So put developing the Harrier jump jet, and Ray time, the valuable thing was machine time, it away and I’ll send somebody tomorrow Wheeler about the development of the so if you could save a minute by spotting an morning.’” hovercraft. The strand is currently focusing error beforehand...” [C1379/19] on the material sciences, beginning with a [C1379/17] that we wanted to go beyond studio filmed anybody, let alone the British Library, would individual’s thoughts and feelings about their ‘talking heads’ and use the full power of the be that interested in what they did decades work in way that other archive sources cannot, medium to really added something special ago. They often don’t see their activities in to bring us a living impression of events in the to the audio recordings. We have begun to the same way as historians tend to. For its distant past. take interviewees back to places where they practitioners the activities of science are worked, asking them to discuss the contrast interesting, but for many it is ultimately just a Access arrangements between their own memories of the site day-to-day job. In a curious sort of way inter- Making the recordings widely available is at and how it stands now. We have also asked views sometimes give the impression that the heart of the project, something which is interviewees to demonstrate the use of instru- we as historians of science have a tendency made easier as the interviews are recorded ments they used in their work, recreating the to treat science as something more special digitally. Once an interview is complete its practice of science and capturing some of than it’s protagonists do. It is us who attach contents are summarised and the entire inter- the tacit knowledge engrained in their use of significance to these events. The way that the view is transcribed. The interviewee, in discus- instruments. As engineers feature heavily in life story interview captures the day-to-day as sion with the interviewer, is able to decide on my own part of the project, recording inter- well as the breakthroughs can keep us mind- access to their interview and they may choose viewees with technologies that they helped ful of this fact. Discussed from the perspective to close parts of the interview for a specified to create has been particularly useful. It has of those involved and as the culmination of number of years. The audio interview and allowed forbiddingly complicated items to be smaller everyday activities, events that we transcript (only the open sections if access explained simply with the help of visual aids treat as hugely significant today, can seem restrictions are imposed), are made accessible and for the technology to act as a prop in the startlingly modest. onsite at the British Library in St Pancras and telling of an interviewee’s story. The life history interview has particular Boston Spa. In addition, unless the interview- attractions for studying science and technol- ee has stated otherwise, interviews are being What do we learn from talking to scientists? ogy. Discussing the narrative of an inter- made accessible online via the British Library’s Despite concentrating on the individual, viewee’s life allows us to understand how Archival Sound Recordings website. (http:// the last thing we’re trying to do is to reduce they developed the skills and mindset that sounds.bl.uk/) the history of science to a collection of great shaped their professional activities and how So far we’ve completed 37 interviews, of scientists’ life stories. For one thing, gathering they developed the contacts that shaped which there are 16 recordings available online ‘lesser heard voices’, such as lab technicians their career. Through discussing friends and and 8 more at the British Library itself. Further and women in science, is amongst the aims colleagues we can appreciate the wider interviews will appear online in batches over of the project. Within an individual interview, social network of science and technology subsequent months. our questioning very much tries to put the surrounding our interviewees and how they Further information about An Oral History interviewee into their wider context as well. interact with others. Oral history can help us of British Science is available on the project We’re asking them not only about them, but break down institutional monoliths, through webpages (http://www.bl.uk/historyofscience) the tools and instruments they used, the interviewees discussing the interaction of and on the project blog (http://britishlibrary. people they worked with, what their office individual personalities within organisations. typepad.co.uk/oralhistoryofscience/). or laboratory was like, the details of the work More than anything else oral history can For more information about National Life they were doing, and so on, to gain an insight capture things that other sources cannot. It Stories visit http://www.bl.uk/nls and to see of the day-to-day activities of an individual in can record, for instance, informal meetings an overview of the British Library oral history context. in corridors, events expunged from archives collections visit http://www.bl.uk/oralhistory/ Many of the individuals we’ve chosen, in the name of past secrecy, telephone calls, collections. senior scientists as well as lab technicians, and wider attitudes toward science. Most Tom Lean are surprisingly modest about their achieve- enlightening of all, oral history can express the British Library ments and almost have a problem seeing why atmosphere of a place or time and convey an [email protected] 4 Viewpoint No. 95 BSHS News The 2010 Singer Prize Perspectives on Science - winners

The Outreach and Education Committee is pleased to announce the winners of its 2010 schools’ competition. The Prize was awarded for the best history of science essay written by an entrant into the Extended Project Qualifi- cation on ‘Perspectives on Science’, who also submitted their essay to the competition. The winning essay, entitled ‘How big is my cake?’, was written by Andrew Hutchins from Havant College. The runners-up prize was awarded to Hannah Ryan of Peter Symonds College. Congratulations to both of our winners!

BSHS Outreach and Education The Test Tank in the New Engineering Building at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Committee Grants Photo courtesy of Mortimer E. Cooley Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Box 66. The Outreach and Education Committee is of- fering grants of between £50-£100 to support The 2010 BSHS Singer Prize has been awarded paper tools and their articulation’; Michael education and outreach projects in the history to Don Leggett, University of Kent, for his Barany, Princeton University for ’Savage of science. The committee is keen to encour- essay ‘Replication and replacing: compara- numbers: counting, race and the evolution of age projects that engage with the history tive contexts of naval science, 1868-1903’. The civilization in Victorian prehistory’; Susannah of science, technology and medicine in new judges were impressed by the rich analysis Gibson, University of Cambridge for ’Newto- and exciting ways and are applicable to their based on an extensive range of manuscript nian vegetables and perceptive plants’. intended audiences. For ideas and informa- sources and by the way in which they had All of these essays were engaging and origi- tion on successful projects that have been been integrated with the existing literature to nal and showed considerable promise. supported or organised by the committee offer an original model of replication. They ap- The decision to recognise all of these essays please see the projects section of our website preciated the extent to which this work drew reflects the high standard of entrants for the at: http://www.bshs.org.uk/outreach-and- on a range of historiographies, linking history 2010 prize and demonstrates the excellent education/projects. of science with cultural history. quality of work being carried out by postgrad- The application form is now available at Special commendations were awarded to uate students in our field. http://www.bshs.org.uk/outreach-and- Jenny Bangham, University of Cambridge for Entries for the next Singer Prize will be education/general. Please send your complet- ‘The Rhesus controversy: scientific notations, invited in 2012. ed form to [email protected].

6-7.30pm, 20 July 2011, The Royal Society, 20th-century scientists as the basis for ma- Imagination and London jor works of fiction. They will reveal what attracted them to these historical sources Speakers: Pat Barker CBE, Philip Sington in particular, and discuss the pleasures and Interpretation: Chair: Prof. Sally Shuttleworth pitfalls of interpreting modern science in fictional worlds. Join Pat Barker CBE and Philip Sington in a The event is free and all are welcome to Writing science discussion about representing scientists and attend. Organised by the Royal Society and science in contemporary fiction. Both authors the BSHS Outreach and Education Com- into fiction have imaginatively used the archives of early mittee. Viewpoint No. 95 5

New BSHS Monograph for 2011

He Is No Loss Robert McCormick and the voyage of HMS Beagle Emily Steel

Robert McCormick (1800-1890) was ship’s surgeon and naturalist for the first four months of the second voyage of HMS Beagle, 1831-1836. In April 1832 he left the ship. McCormick was furious that, for all intents and purposes, a civilian passenger on board had usurped his rightful position as ship’s naturalist and confidant to the captain. That passenger, of course, was Charles Darwin. This volume examines McCormick’s activities on HMS Beagle, his participa- tion in the natural history of the voyage, and his relationships with both Darwin and FitzRoy. It includes a transcription of McCormick’s Beagle journal from the time he arrived onboard in the summer of 1831 (the ship was in harbour at Ply- mouth) until his departure from the ship at Rio de Janeiro in April 1832, plus his return voyage to England. This diary has not been published previously. McCormick’s activities on HMS Beagle are fascinating in comparison with Darwin’s notes, diary and later publications. They nicely illustrate an approach to natural history alternative to Darwin’s, and they offer a case study of excision’s impact on historical memory.

BSHS Monographs volume 14 Published by the British Society for the History of Science ISBN 978-0-906450-18-5 |£10.00 RRP paperback order from any online retailer or your local bookshop

For more information: http://www.bshs. org.uk/monographs 6 Viewpoint No. 95

Viewpoint Who should tell the story of longitude? The story of John Harrison and the Board of address popular audiences as well as working the circle, the Board of Longitude maintained Longitude is well known by most who take to advance intellectual knowledge. Writ- interests in many other research programmes an interest in the history of science. Dava ing academically-minded history for more and individuals’ efforts. Sobel’s 1995 book Longitude: The Story of a widespread consumption is not impossible Although it is important to remember that Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific and good models for this kind of work already historians should not have to sacrifice time Problem of His Time has popularised the story exist; Jenny Uglow’s The Lunar Men and Jon spent producing detailed research, and push- of Harrison and the Board well beyond the Agar’s Turing and the Universal Machine serve ing at the boundaries of current historical scope that any academic publication could as excellent examples of the kind of work that understanding, the success of Sobel’s work hope to achieve. In its pages, Harrison and historians should aspire to produce at some suggests that there is a demand for popular his timekeepers become the key actors in the point in their careers. history and that academic historians should history of longitude; however, a focus on them By shifting the heart of the longitude story attempt to speak to this broader audience arguably distracts the attention of those who away from the heroic history of the chronom- more often than they currently do. The have read Sobel’s book from other amazing eter to the Board’s archives, we discover a rich injurious characteristic of Sobel’s work is her and tantalising aspects of the history of the resource that paints a very different picture over-simplification and misrepresentation. Board and the problem of longitude in the compared to Sobel’s narrative. The history of Themes rejected by academic history prevail 18th century. how the Board shaped scientific endeavour in Longitude, such as the notions of lone gen- Sobel’s book is a masterpiece of storytell- and interacted with men of science in the long ius, of science simply leading to technology ing, but it falls short as history because, to 18th century is yet to be fully explored, but and of technology straightforwardly shaping entertain a more popular audience, Sobel had exciting progress has been made. For instance, the world. They should not, in my opinion, to sacrifice historical depth for rip-roaring it is now known that in 1818 the Board of Lon- be tolerated in the forum of popular history narrative. Longitude has been criticised by gitude was redefined, with a rather obvious either. Work is being done by The Board of academic historians as sensationalist and an and significant change of focus, by the Act for Longitude Project at Cambridge to let the over-simplification of complex history; but the more effectually discovering the Longitude source material speak for itself and for its his- merely dismissing such works as poor history at Sea, and encouraging attempts to find a tories to remain complex. Historians working is not constructive. Sobel and people like North West Passage between the Atlantic and on longitude have a responsibility to produce her are history’s public face. If professional the Pacific Oceans and to approach the North- more accessible history that challenges both historians don’t develop them first, all the ern Pole. A small time spent with the Board of Sobel’s narrative and a curious and discerning best stories risk being cherry-picked from the Longitude papers shows us the involvement public. If historians don’t act as communica- archives by popular authors, who will encour- of Commissioners in a multitude of endeav- tors, they cannot complain when others, like age the public desire for anecdotal titbits. I ours unconnected to Harrison or chronome- Sobel, speak for them. believe that historians need to embrace the ters. From alternative longitude schemes such The demand for the story of longitude role of the storyteller and, on occasion, write as the ‘marine chair’ and the Nautical Almanac, and other tales from the history of science in a more popular fashion to appeal to a wider to the establishment of an observatory at the demonstrates that there is a central place academic or interested lay audience. Whether Cape, the search for the North West Passage, in academia for the creation of compelling historians want to engage the public or not, improvements in nautical instruments – narrative which is less dominated by historio- publishing houses will never lack offers from particularly the creation of artificial horizons – graphical and theoretical problems. Yet it is more mainstream authors who are willing to and responding to correspondence concern- not impossible to include academic historical attempt it. Historians need to find ways to ing perpetual motion and the quadrature of themes and perspectives within a gripping story: the interested public do not need their history dumbed down. Professional historians will have to start engaging more fully with the demand for popular versions of their work if they want to retain their authority over history in a popular setting. There is no need to sacrifice depth for narrative. With future exhibitions planned at the National Maritime Museum and the Whipple Museum and an on-going blogging project at http://www.nmm.ac.uk/blogs/longitude/blog. html, current work on the Board of Longitude has a unique opportunity to promote a more complex history than Sobel’s narrative to the interested public. But across the discipline, historians have a responsibility to ensure that at least some of their work is accessible to those outside of academia. After all, if left in the ivory tower, history is more or less bunk.

Sophie Waring University of Cambridge The H4 Harrison Marine Timekeeper: time to step aside for a new hero? [email protected] © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Ministry of Defence Art Collection. Viewpoint No. 95 7

Object of the Issue Charlotte Connelly debates how to display the BSEM-6, a Russian supercomputer

During research for a pro- posed new gallery at the Science Museum, Making Modern Communications, I’ve come across many fantastic objects. One of those objects is the BESM- 6, a Russian supercomputer that was designed in the early 1960s by leading soviet computer scientist Sergei Alekseevich Leb- edev. Sadly the computer is currently hidden away in the Museum’s large object store, but the gallery team are making the case for its inclusion in the new gallery. There are a number of reasons for showing any object: it might be aesthet- ically wonderful and speak for itself as a result; it could work as a marker that helps transport visitors to a particular time or place; it may be an important Big, blue... and beautiful? The BESM-6 in the Science Museum’s large object store. Photo by John Liffen. piece of historical evidence that supports your story or links to a particular individual; or perhaps equipment of the 19th century. Many objects and Russian computing with his slightly it is something that will surprise or provoke from the 20th century are simply mute to all more familiar American counterpart, Sey- the visitor. The BESM-6 is great because it can but those who have some expert knowledge. mour Cray. This also allows an interrogation do all of these things, but at the same time it To understand the BESM-6 we have to travel of claims that the BESM computers used flags up some of the challenges that science to Russia in the Cold War years when, in the ideas from IBM – something that Lebedev and technology museums regularly face when wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a denied, but in the Cold War years denying that displaying their objects. moratorium on atmospheric nuclear tests anything good could come out of American The BESM-6 is big, it is blue and it is unlike was agreed. The effect of banning testing was was common rhetoric in Russia. On the other any computer I have ever seen before. that new, demonstrable examples of military hand one of Lebedev’s goals was to encour- Although some may disagree, I would strug- might were needed for both governments age an ‘indigenous’ development of computer gle to call the BESM-6 beautiful; but what it to continue their posturing. In America the technology, so perhaps he really did not lacks in beauty it makes up for in size. The CDC6600 supercomputer was delivered in knowingly borrow from IBM. main computer console looks like something 1964, in the same year the first prototypes for In amongst all this dramatic history it is straight out of a 1960s science fiction drama the Soviet supercomputer the BESM-6 were important to remember that the Science – it has winking coloured lights, inviting completed. Both were used to generate highly Museum’s BESM-6 has its own life story. A switches and clunky looking buttons. The detailed simulations of military strikes, and to former Science Museum Curator of Comput- other working parts are hidden away in large calculate the most effective targets – allowing, Doron Swade, had to negotiate Russian metal cupboards, some with no outward sign ing the two states to maintain their threats. relationships, bureaucracy and bribery in of what they might do, others with intriguing Telling that story through objects might be order to arrange the shipment of what is a Russian posters stuck on or magnetic tape as simple as having both a CDC6600 and very large piece of kit. His efforts meant that equipment on show. BESM-6 displayed opposing each other as if in the Science Museum collection is now home As an object in itself the BESM-6 is imposing a stand-off. to the only BESM-6 in ‘the West’. I hope that and unusual enough to capture the atten- However, the Cold War was not the only we are able to successfully overcome the tion. What it does not convey is what it might use for the BESM-6, there were some 350 challenges of size and unfamiliarity to display have been used for. This is an almost universal machines produced, and they were used in a the BESM-6, and provide our visitors with the problem with recent science and technology wide range of academic, military and business opportunity to enjoy this rare and outstand- artefacts. Interpreting ‘black box’ technologies environments. Explaining all of this to the ing object. (or, in this case, blue) is a huge challenge for general Science Museum audience is tricky - science and technology museums – espe- Russian computing is almost certainly a little Charlotte Connelly cially when contrasted with the beautiful and known subject for most of our visitors. So, Science Museum relatively easily understood brass and glass perhaps it will be useful to juxtapose Lebedev [email protected] 8 Viewpoint No. 95

Where Watt Worked Ben Russell explains how the famous workshop has been recreated at the Science Museum

One of four photographs taken at Heathfield by J Willoughby Harrison when the contents of Watt’s workshop were being moved to The Science Museum in December 1924. Image © Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library.

When eminent Scottish engineer James Watt of Watt far different to the traditional steam (‘Watt the creative professional’) suffered the died in 1819, the door to his attic workshop engineer. Here is Watt the potter, chemist, sur- same problem. We needed an approach which at Heathfield, Birmingham, was locked and veyor, instrument maker, even art technician. would allow us to encompass all these facets remained unopened until 1858. Right up To complicate matters further, the workshop of Watt within a single coherent gallery story to 1924, when it was finally acquired in its was acquired when Watt was much more of which, paradoxically, had to be less complex entirety by the Science Museum, only a select a prominent national figure, while today his than the sum of its component parts. handful of people entered the workshop. star appears to have faded somewhat. To ‘Watt the scientific entrepreneur’ seemed to With Watt ascending into Britain’s pantheon paraphrase the problem, we were being asked fit the bill, taking advantage of Watt’s stand- of national heroes, the workshop became an to build a gallery using objects which were ing in two interconnected worlds: science industrial shrine, described by his biographer often unrecognisable to visitors, about a man and industry. Watt had, as the objects in the JP Muirhead as a ‘magical retreat’ where ‘all relatively few knew much about. workshop suggested, a canny eye for a busi- things… seemed still to breathe of the spirit The starting point was to ask ourselves ness opportunity in fields as diverse as making that once gave them life and energy’. ‘what was Watt?’. ‘Watt the scientist’ (or natural musical instruments, dyestuffs, sculpture and The workshop has now been redisplayed philosopher) experienced problems of defini- pottery. There was no simple flow from experi- in a new permanent gallery at the Science tion, including a rather simplistic ‘flow’ from ment to industrial-scale application. Rather, Museum, London. The 3-year project has science to its applications, which was difficult the two developed broadly in parallel, with involved both a close study of the workshop to avoid while retaining a coherent gallery Watt drawing upon a portfolio of skills, be contents, and detailed consideration of how narrative. ‘Watt the engineer’, viewing Watt’s they in engineering, chemistry or other areas, to interpret Watt himself in a gallery context. many projects as engineering in different as required. Both presented problems. The workshop forms, meant interpreting things through a This entrepreneurial approach reflects how contains 8,430 objects, a complete physical retrospective lens which was itself hard for later Enlightenment thinking advanced from record of Watt’s working life and interests. And many visitors to understand. Interpreting simply ‘observing’ to ‘observing and apply- their bewildering variety presents a picture Watt’s projects as technological creativity ing’. The process and products of ‘turning Viewpoint No. 95 9

Reviews science into money’, as it was phrased in the Finally, Chapter Five discusses the attempts gallery, helped the project team look beyond by anthropologists since the 19th century to Watt’s steam engine and fully encompass Book analyse magic in non-Western cultures, and the material culture of his workshop. It also their ideas about the relationship of magic helped interpret Watt’s broader significance. to science on the one hand, and religion on Looking at the engine in isolation might Robert Ralley, Magic: a Begin- the other. This thematic structure works well, have presented a very deterministic view of ner’s Guide (Oxford: Oneworld bringing into focus long-term continuities as steam. But the workshop contents show that Publications, 2010), xvi +176pp, well as important changes, and it allows Ralley Watt was himself a consumer as much as a to introduce important debates about change producer, buying everything from hand tools £9.99, ISBN: 978-1-85168-713-8. over time, such as the relationship between and plaster moulds to chemicals and other Renaissance magic and later experimental materials, and that many of his other projects This is a popular history book that gives an science. were aimed at consumers not of power, but overview of the history of magic, from the This book is extremely successful in tackling of instruments, dyed textiles, sculpture and first use of the term by the ancient Greeks a complex topic in a clear and engaging way. much else. The workshop became a catalyst to describe the activities of Persian priests, The various strands that make up the history to address the relationship between the avail- to the modern stage magic of David Blaine. of magic are separated logically and the often ability of power on one hand, and consumer Wisely for an introductory work such as this, difficult ideas of the historical figures who demand on the other, which in turn opened Ralley keeps his definition of magic broad wrote about magic are explained well, with up a long view of Britain’s industrial growth and bases it on the ways in which the term a nice eye for examples. Overall the focus of into the 19th century and beyond. was used throughout its long history: ‘those the book tends towards intellectual rather Establishing the relationship between who claimed to be practising magic and who than social history, perhaps unsurprisingly power and material prosperity was person- advocated it’ as well as ‘accusations of magic given that Ralley’s background is in the history alised by the Victorians as being in large (however unfounded) and the people who of science. Thus Renaissance magi and the part Watt’s responsibility. Exploring this made them’. After a short introduction that 19th-century occultists of the Golden Dawn issue helped the gallery team explain why sets out how the ancient Greek term magi receive more attention than (say) cunning folk the Science Museum acquired the ‘magical originated and how its meaning changed over or witch trials, although these topics do get retreat’ of Watt’s workshop. It also meant the centuries, the book is divided into five a mention. In a short book like this there are that the objects used in the gallery went thematic chapters. Chapter One starts with will always be room for expansion and other beyond engine models, steam indicators, and magic’s association with the devil, stretching topics that could have been discussed: the engineering artefacts to encompass every- from early Christian writers to the witch trials witch trials, in particular, could have received thing from flutes, buttons and coins to cotton of the 16th and 17th centuries. Chapter Two a little more detail given the amount of atten- dresses, Wedgwood vases and silverware. focuses on natural magic, which was believed tion that they have received from historians. Presenting Watt as a scientific entrepreneur to rely not on the devil but on unexplained However, it is unfair to complain about gaps working within a context of consumption in ‘occult’ forces which were part of the natural in a short book that covers so much. This is this way will, we hope, make the new gallery world. Chapter Three moves to magic as illu- an intelligent and always readable introduc- based around Watt’s workshop a memorable sion and deception, from medieval ‘jugglers’ to tion to the history of magic that will be useful one. modern stage magic. Chapter Four maintains for students and general readers, and is also the focus on the modern period but discusses enjoyable for specialists. Ben Russell modern magical traditions which view magic Curator of Mechanical Engineering not as an illusion but as a real force with the Catherine Rider Science Museum capacity to influence the world, from the 18th- University of Exeter [email protected] century Rosicrucians to 21st-century Wicca. [email protected]

Mezzotint of Watt at work (published in 1860) engraved by James Scott after an original painting by James Eckford Lauder (1811-1869). Image © Science Museum Pictorial / Science & Society Picture Library. 10 Viewpoint No. 95

Museo Galileo and Science at the Florentine Court An introduction to the 2010 Great Exhibitions! competition winner, by Giorgio Strano

Museo Galileo (http://www.museogalileo.it), on the banks of the River Arno in Florence, houses the extraordinary collections of ‘scien- tifica’ gathered by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany from the mid-16th to the mid-19th centuries. The history of science from mediaeval times up to the mid-19th century is represented by nearly 1,100 items arranged in 18 rooms. Thanks to the bivalent artistic and scientific nature of the items on display, Museo Galileo is geared towards the general public. Never- theless, it also includes differentiated forms of experiences for students, general visitors and scholars. The museum offers multiple approaches to the history of science, and there are three main concepts which guide the public through the museum. These concepts mainly deal with the underlying tension between tradition and innovation which often characterises scientific progress. Firstly, the exhibit shows the evolution of measuring methods and scientific ideas. The instruments are therefore arranged in both a 18 rooms with a view: Museo Galileo (at the far right of the picture, with the red banner) thematic and chronological fashion. This crite- on the banks of the Arno. Photo by Melanie Keene. rion of display facilitates the understanding of the persisting use of traditional instruments to perform a number of measurements, as well relevance of weight in determining the speed was used to increase the political and eco- as the introduction of new instruments which of the falling bodies, and the dogma of the nomical powers of the sovereigns. The genu- enabled new discoveries to be made, opened immobility of the Earth. The use of new instru- ine beauty of the instruments on display was new fields of research, and challenged old pre- ments led Galileo and his followers to perform part of the court’s self-promotional intent. On conceptions. Secondly, the exhibit highlights sensational discoveries and to change the the other hand, the Hapsburg-Lorraine instru- the role of Galileo, a local scientific hero. A ancient architecture of the world. Finally, the ments displayed on the second floor show deep understanding of the knowledge of the exhibit represents a case study in the social the passage from a private to a public sphere. past stimulated Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) to history of science. The first floor hosts the According to the Enlightenment’s idea of revise traditional concepts, such as the alleged Medici’s collection. Under this dynasty, science progress, the instruments became functional to the scientific principles they were called to detect or explain. Moreover, they became part of the first public science museum, which was inaugurated in Florence in 1775. The design of Museo Galileo involved experts in the history of science, museology, architecture, communication and graphics. These experts collaborated together to produce an immersive experience. The first room of each floor is designed to introduce the spirit of the Medici or the Hapsburg-Lorraine collections; the other rooms follow a thematic sequence. The first floor’s themes coincide with the Medici’s original preferential organi- sation of the instruments according to their practical uses. The second floor is divided by social relevance of the instruments, which was in line with the Hapsburg-Lorraine’s cultural purposes. The planning process between historians, museologists and architects allowed Museo Galileo to conjugate both the beauty and the scientific relevance of the objects on display. The two floors of the exhibit have been fully renovated. While some windows look out onto important spots of Florence, the Sala VII at the Museo Galileo. Photo courtesy of Museo Galileo. architecture of some rooms recalls interiors Viewpoint No. 95 11

Reviews from the past: from princely rooms with artis- how science and art were revered in that tic tapestry to the tribune of Galileo inaugu- country and time. With the astrolabe itself, it rated in 1841 at the ‘Specola’ of Florence. Even Exhibition was interesting to understand the relationship the lighting and the colouring of the rooms between its precise mathematical function were studied and carefully chosen to create ‘Al Mizan: Sciences and the Arts and the artistic embellishments in the form of special atmospheres. in the Islamic World’, Museum of calligraphy. Museo Galileo represents state-of-the- One illustration which perfectly captured art display and conservation methods for the History of Science, Oxford, 26 the spirit of ‘balance’ for me was the one of the scientific instruments. It is representative of a October 2010-20 March 2011. king weighing his son on the scales and giv- completely new concept in the panorama of ing the corresponding weight in gold to the permanent exhibitions on the history of sci- poor – it was literal weighing followed by the On my way to my Arabic classes in Oxford, ence: the instruments are placed in showcases re-balancing of wealth. By tackling different I noticed the Museum of the History of Sci- or on platforms to separate the public from aspects of life of partisans, artisans and market ence had a banner up about their current the items, and to emphasize the difference place sellers, the idea of harmony and balance exhibition, ‘Al-Mizan: Sciences and the Arts between a museum made of original instru- seemed a culturally pervasive theme organ- in the Islamic World’. The title was in written ments from a science centre. The show cases ised through Islam. in Arabic, so I was pleased I could make out are designed to reveal both the artistic details The exhibition itself carefully balances the ‘Al-Mizan’ without having to read the English as well as the functions of the instruments. strands of science, art and religion leaving an underneath it. Unfortunately, my vocabulary Moreover, the show cases include magnetic interpretation that was informative and left was limited so I had to venture into the mu- gaskets and air filters, making them efficient me with a deeper impression of the Islamic seum to find out how exactly the word related at protecting the items from dust, moisture heritage behind each object. The objects to science and art, but since the exhibition and insects. Platforms and shelves are made themselves were beautiful; even the simple picture had a man holding scales, I decided it of metal, glass, Plexiglas and new no-gas- pen box is delicately laden with intricate cal- had probably something to do with that. emitting materials. The light systems are set ligraphy signifying the status of the calligra- Al-Mizan means balance. It refers both to up to show off the most minute details of the pher. Science and art weren’t separate entities the measurement and the metaphorical state. objects without UV emission. (as I had presumed before going to this exhi- This concept is used to structure the exhibi- The museum’s multi-levelled informational bition), but both professions were respected tion. From Courtly Culture to Calligraphy, the apparatus is indispensable to satisfy the audi- and worked together to make instruments of idea of balance and harmony is presented ence’s curiosity. Each room includes panels precision and beauty. It was refreshing to have throughout. Sometimes I thought it was a bit recounting the context of the exhibited instru- this assumption re-addressed - or re-balanced, of a stretch to work the idea of balance into ments through graphic elaborations using as it were. each section, but I appreciated the consist- original iconography, brief explanatory texts, ency of its application. I particularly enjoyed and the motto of a scientist from the past. the geographical display of the range of Shahina Rahman Labels and captions have a minimal impact astrolabes made over the centuries in differ- Science Museum Volunteer on the displayed objects, as they provide ent Islamic countries. The way each astrolabe [email protected] only basic information about them. Since the was designed gave a distinct impression of scientific instruments, however, have specific functions that cannot easily be demonstrated in this way, Museo Galileo also includes several multimedia applications. A series of monitors highlights the most important items on display and a for-rent video-guide provides info at different levels. The visitor using the video-guide has the choice between following a highlighted tour or select a single instrument in order to gain access to more text, images and movies about its context, makers, inventors, and functions.

Giorgio Strano Museo Galileo [email protected]

The name of Shah Abbas II has been calligraphi- cally incorporated into the upper portion of this astrolabe rete (al-ankabut). Astrolabe, by Muham- mad Muqim al-Yazdi, Persian, 1647/8; MHS inv. 45747. Picture courtesy of the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. 12 Viewpoint No. 95

Introducing: the CERN Archive Anita Hollier details the material waiting to be uncovered by scholars On 30 March 2010 the Large Hadron Collider physics programme began with collisions at 7 TeV (3.5 TeV per beam), generating not only high-speed protons but also widespread me- dia attention. The LHC, near Geneva in Swit- zerland, is the world’s largest particle accelera- tor. It has the biggest and most sophisticated detectors ever built and the most powerful supercomputer system in the world, and it is the coolest place in the Universe (-271°C)! In 1954 all this was just green fields. But the determination of a handful of visionary scientists and politicians had led to the creation of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). European science had suffered during the war and recovery would not be easy, particularly in an expensive discipline like nuclear physics. A multinational laboratory would not only unite European scientists but also allow them to share the costs. The rest is history, and it is documented in the CERN Archive. The Archive, containing one linear kilometre of records, is open to researchers from within and outside CERN, and includes files of letters, memos, reports and other records of the CERN On 24th November 1959 CERN’s Proton Synchrotron accelerated particles to 24 GeV. Council, the Directors and Directors-General, John Adams holds an empty vodka bottle, which he had received from Dubna (USSR) and the various CERN departments, experi- with the message that the contents were to be drunk when CERN passed the Dubna mental collaborations and committees. synchrophasotron’s world record energy of 10 GeV. In the bottle is a polaroid photograph The online CERN Archive catalogue is of the 24 GeV pulse ready to be sent back to the Soviet Union. © CERN. available at http://cdsweb.cern.ch/collection/ CERN%20Archives, and the Archive homepage on the history of CERN. The archivists are working in different universities and institutes at http://library.web.cern.ch/library/Archives/ working hard to catalogue the backlog of around the world. Welcome.html gives background information, unlisted material, and a series of collection- Also of interest is the small but prestigious including access conditions and resources level descriptions is also underway to facilitate Archive of Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), who browsing. A brief Guide gives an overview of won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1945 for his the whole Archive and acts as a gateway to exclusion principle, and whose uncompromis- other finding aids. ing rigour earned him nicknames including Researchers are welcome to visit the Archive ‘the conscience of physics’ and ‘the scourge of to conduct their own investigations (by God’! Pauli was deeply interested in epistemo- appointment, we are a very small team!), and logical and philosophical questions. He was we are always happy to answer your enquiries. in analysis with the psychologist C. G. Jung Ongoing digitisation projects also mean that during the early 1930s, and continued a lively more full-texts of historic documents are avail- and varied correspondence with him. The bulk able online via the CERN Library database. of the Archive comprises Pauli’s scientific cor- These include Annual Reports, CERN Council respondence with Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg documents and many other series of scientific and many others. It also includes Pauli’s notes reports. and manuscripts, his collection of books and Some 10,000 visiting scientists, half of the reprints, photographs, and various personal world’s particle physicists, come to CERN to items such as the baptismal cup given to him pursue their research each year, and the labo- by his godfather, Ernst Mach. Much of this ratory employs almost 2,400 people. Notable material has been digitised and made avail- British staff have included Sir John Adams able on-line (http://library.web.cern.ch/library/ (1920-1984), several times Director-General Archives/pauli/paulimain.html). of CERN, one of the main architects of CERN’s Whatever your research interest we will do accelerators, and Director (1960-1966) of the our best to find the information you need, so new controlled thermonuclear research estab- even if you can’t come to Geneva don’t hesi- lishment, now the Culham Centre for Fusion tate to get in touch. Energy; and Tim Berners-Lee (1955- ), inventor of the World Wide Web, which he developed Anita Hollier Wolfgang Pauli at 20 months with his at CERN in 1989 to meet the demand for auto- CERN archive mother, Bertha, in 1901. © CERN. matic information sharing between scientists [email protected] Viewpoint No. 95 13 Reports of Meetings BSHS Postgraduate Conference, Manchester, January 2011

Conference delegates debate the issues of the day. Photo courtesy of Emily Hankin.

I am a new-minted PhD student and this was was relatively little discussion of broader PhD students, and it would be remiss of me my first BSHS Post-Graduate conference. I was historiographical questions within the papers not to mention them – or not to say that I gratified to find that what people had told themselves: by and large, these studies were have spent almost as much time since the me was true, and that one does learn more presented as of interest in their own right, conference thinking about those dissatisfac- from one’s peers than from formal supervisary rather than for the ways they would trans- tions as about the substantial and valuable relationships. The variety of papers is prob- form our view of given historical periods. This work I saw presented at the conference. ably best suggested by just listing a few of subject was raised forcefully in discussion, their topics (this list is illustrative and not and in questions after papers, by a few people Michael Paskins particularly selective, although these were with whom I spoke. (For obvious reason I UCL all sessions which interested me): Frederick do not know how broad such discussions [email protected] Backman described the creation of the ‘space- were). One researcher whose background is city’ in Kiruna, Sweden from the 1950s to the in mainstream history voiced present, and its association with military and his frustration that so much of scientific agendas and the tensions it caused history of science seemed to with the indigenous Sami people; Michael obediently follow a series of Beardmore talked about the place of clouds in frameworks which have been Aristotle’s philosophy, as bounding layers be- set in place since the 1980s. tween different elemental spheres; Susannah Another student who was Gibson established the links between English working on social construc- and European natural history during the tionist themes said that she eighteenth century by examining networks had found herself trying to of correspondence and the circulation of reinvent economic theory texts; Anouska Bhattacharyya described how from first principles, because asylums for the insane in nineteenth century of the way she was trying to India were run by a wide range of groups, and relate the agents involved the centrality of cooks, janitors and cleaners. in her work; she described a If I sound boyishly enthusiastic about these love-hate relationship with papers, that is because I am; and there were the theoretical apparatus many others, as good, which I am going to which Science and Technol- have to pass over if these 600 words aren’t ogy Studies makes available to become a retrospective prospectus. But it for this kind of work. Another gives a flavour of the range. said that she wanted to write We were very well hosted by the Centre for a big swashbuckling book in the History of Science Technology and Medi- the style of Foucault at his cine at the university of Manchester. Dr James most extravagant – never Sumner gave a splendid presentation about mind how cavalier that meant the history of brewing. being with the evidence. Most of the papers were case-studies, which Again, such sentiments are is common in a conference of this type. There hardly uncommon among The conference dinner. Photo courtesy of Emily Hankin. 14 Viewpoint No. 95

HPSTM People: The Questionnaire Sophie Forgan taught history of architecture, art and design at the University of Teesside. She is Chairman of Trustees of the Captain Cook Museum, Whitby. Interview: Emily Hankin.

Who or what first turned you towards the on Chairman of Trustees of the Captain Cook What would you do to strengthen HSTM as History of Science, Technology and Medi- Museum in Whitby. This allows me to become a discipline? cine (HSTM)? involved with collections, purchasing artifacts, staging exhibitions, publishing and research It feels in pretty good shape, with strong Being taken by my father to the Royal across several disciplines. It provides the best outreach, research with great intellectual Institution, seeing the library and museum of all worlds for a semi-retired academic, and strengths, though there is always a tight- of scientific instruments, and listening to HSTM provides perspectives and opens doors rope to walk in terms of also keeping close Sir Lawrence Bragg lecturing in the famous which might otherwise remain closed. There to the sciences as they are currently taught theatre. Here was an immense area of his- is always something new to do in a museum, and pursued. tory about which I knew nothing. I was a which suits my style of working and research. late starter in any case, did a history degree How do you see the future shape of HSTM? at Birkbeck, and decided then to study the What are your favourite HSTM books? Royal Institution’s history for a PhD. That Any future predictions are bound to be brought me into contact with historians of The catalogue of the 1851 exhibition which wrong! Much will depend on maintaining a science and the joys of discovering forgot- is full of extraordinary artifacts and inven- strong university base in the UK, and there ten papers on the tops of cupboards - in the tions; Janet Browne’s exemplary two-volume are strengths in cross-disciplinary work and days before a proper archive room was built! biography of Darwin (1995 and 2002); Martin links with institutions such as museums and Rudwick’s The Meaning of Fossils (1976) which research bodies. Web based activities and What’s your best dinner-table HSTM story? is a starting point for anyone interested in the materials will surely develop in unexpected history of geology; and I enormously enjoyed ways. That holds out the promise of interna- I rather like the picture of the irascible poly- Richard Fortey’s Dry Store Room No.1: The Se- tional and inter-disciplinary collaborations math, Johann Reinhold Forster, expostulat- cret Life of the Natural History Museum (2008). and novel approaches. ing volubly after putting up with a goat bleating piteously all night next to his cabin on board the Resolution during Captain Cook’s voyage southwards across the Ant- arctic Circle. It was too cold for the animals on deck, but both the goat and Forster man- aged to survive the rigours of the voyage.

What has been your best career moment?

Perhaps an early one: the first paper I ever gave to a major conference in 1984 at the University of Kent, and feeling that I had something to say to historians of science about space, architecture and the design of scientific buildings. Many people there were extremely helpful and it got me going.

Which historical person would you most like to meet?

It has to be Faraday, perhaps when lecturing on the ‘Chemical History of a Candle’, with the young Tyndall admiring darkly in the background. I have always been interested in performance and the setting for specta- cles of science.

If you did not work in HSTM, what other career might you choose?

A museum career. But I am lucky, because I actually now have a second career as hands- Viewpoint No. 95 15

Announcements

History of Science HotSpots Competition

To celebrate the launch of our new website, Entries will be judged in three categories • All entries must be sent in electronic the BSHS Travel Guide (http://www.bshs.org. and prizes will be awarded for the winning format (preferably a Word document) uk/travel-guide), we are inviting pupils from entry in each age group: under-11, 11-14 and clearly marked with the name of the school, across the UK to tell us about a local place 15-18. The best entries will also be published teacher’s contact details, names and ages of that they think is important to the history of on the website so that visitors from around pupils. science. the world can find out about the fascinating • Due to copyright restrictions, all text and Perhaps a famous scientist lived or history of these scientific hotspots. images including photographs or artwork worked in your local area, or an important must be original. Material reproduced from discovery was made just around the corner. Competition rules: the internet or other sources will not be Is there a site of industrial importance or a • Entries must be no longer than 1000 accepted by the judges. famous institution right on your doorstep? words and contain no more than 3 images Please send your HotSpot travel guides to If so, tell us all about it! You can even send • Individuals, groups of students or whole [email protected]. us up to 3 photographs you have taken or classes may enter, however schools are pictures that you have drawn to bring your restricted to no more than 5 entries per Deadline for entries is 13th July 2011. travel guide to life. school per category.

As a little exercise in German pronunciation, As for ‘Zwieback’, it does indeed etymologi- I recommend the above subtitle to this note. cally mean ‘twice baked’. Both ‘zwieback’ and Letter to the Editor But, let us allow the Immortal Bard, through ‘zweiback’ are spelling variations attested in the melancholy Jaques, to have the last word 17th-century German. (Grimm and Grimm, Ode to a Rusk, or, Zwei Stück on the subject of rusks and biscuits: Deutsches Wörterbuch) In English, there- Bäckers Zwieback, bitte! fore, the word ‘zweiback’ is that interesting “...... : and in his brain, category of mispelling, the hypercorrection. The correct handling and pronunciation of Which is as dry as the remainder Zwieback The spelling ‘zweiback’ is also the first attested the German vowels often appears to present After a voyage, he hath strange places instance of the word in English, in 1894 in the the English speaker with some difficulty, a cramm’d N.Y. Weekly Tribune. (OED) particular pons asinorum being the correct With observation, the which he vents While I grant that I know no contemporary ordering of the letters i and e. This is unfortu- In mangled forms.” dictionary which had approved the e-before-i nate, because the German language (unlike spelling, it is nevertheless a widely-used vari- English) is usually quite unambiguous in both John Douglas Hey ation in the United States, to such a degree orthography and pronunciation. Emeritus Professor, School of Physics that I had largely stopped seeing it. Not only A particular case in point is afforded by your University of KwaZulu-Natal is ‘zweiback’ well-used in recipe books – such recipe for ‘Pineapple Cake’, which appeared on Durban, South Africa as the Memphis Cookbook whose spelling as p. 9 of Viewpoint No. 94 (February, 2011): the [email protected] well as recipe I borrowed – but in commercial word Zwieback (rusk, or biscuit) is turned into production by Log House Foods, which sells the non-existent ‘double-bake’, by reversal of Shana Worthen responds... ‘Log House Original Zweiback Toast’. these vowels. While this error occurs at least thrice in the recipe, I should also add that the I understand well the frustration of seeing a Shana Worthen addition of –s in the one case produces, not familiar word mis-adapted into other languag- University of Arkansas at Little Rock the nominative plural, as clearly intended, but es; I have still not wholly reconciled myself to [email protected] the genitive singular (‘of a rusk’)! ‘biscotti’ being a singular noun in English. 16 Viewpoint No. 95

The British Journal for the History of Science

The June issue of BJHS will include the following, plus reviews:

M. Alper Yalcinkaya, ‘Science as an ally of religion: a Muslim appropriation of “The Conflict Thesis”’

Hanna Hodacs, ‘Linnaeans outdoors: the transformative role of studying nature “on the move” and outside’

Falk Mueller, ‘Johann Wilhelm Hittorf and the material culture of 19th-century gas discharge research’

Ilana Lowy, ‘“Sexual chemistry” before the Pill: science, industry and chemical contraceptives, 1920-1960’

An essay review on science and religion by Peter Bowler www.bshs.org.uk/bjhs

Viewpoint: the Newsletter of the BSHS

Contributions All contributions and correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Dr Melanie Keene, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PH; [email protected]. Electronic communication is preferred. Viewpoint is issued three times a year – in February, June and October. The next issue will be in October 2011 and the deadline for copy is 15th August 2011.

Circulation Enquiries about circulation should be sent to the BSHS Executive Secretary, British Society for the History of Science, PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF. Viewpoint is free to BSHS members and is priced is priced £12.00 a year (three issues) for UK non-members, £17.00 a year for overseas non-members.

Advertisements The Editor will consider advertisements regarding new appointments but, as a general rule, other advertisements are not printed in this publication. However, for an appropriate charge, leaflets advertising suitable events, publications etc. can be sent out with Viewpoint, subject to size and postage restrictions: full details are available from the BSHS Executive Secretary; exec- [email protected].

Copyright © The British Society for the History of Science Ltd. 2009. Extracts not exceeding the equivalent of a normal paragraph may be reproduced elsewhere providing acknowledgement is given to Viewpoint: the Newsletter of the British Society for the History of Science.

Disclaimer Any views expressed in Viewpoint are those of the Editor or named contributor and not those of the council or membership of the BSHS. Every effort is made to provide accurate information, but no responsibility is accepted by the Editor or Council for omissions or errors.

The British Society for the History of Science

All enquiries to the BSHS Executive Secretary, British Society for the History of Science, PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF, UK; Tel: +44 (0)1603 516236; [email protected].

You can join online, paying by credit or debit card at www.bshs.org.uk/bshs/join_the_bshs. Alternatively you can download a direct debit mandate form.

The British Society for the History of Science is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee, No. 562208, and is also a Registered Charity, No. 258854. Registered Office: PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF, UK.