Overview
- Explores the extension of biography to non-human subjects in the history of physics
- Edited and authored by leading historians of science
- Builds bridges between various perspectives on the history of physics
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Individuals
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Front Matter
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Limitations
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
This book sheds new light on the biographical approach in the history of physics by including the biographies of scientific objects, institutions, and concepts. What is a biography? Can biographies also be written for non-human subjects like scientific instruments, institutions or concepts? The respective chapters of this book discuss these controversial questions using examples from the history of physics. By approaching biography as metaphor, it transcends the boundaries between various perspectives on the history of physics, and enriches our grasp of the past.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Christian Forstner is a Heisenberg-Fellow at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Graduated in physics, he started a career in the history of science. His research focuses on the history of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, science and society, and the material culture of physics. He was vice-president of the international Commission for the History of Modern Physics and serves as chairman of the Division for the History of Physics of the German Physical Society.
Mark Walker is the John Bigelow Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, NY, USA, where he teaches modern European history and the history of science and technology. His research focuses on the history of science, medicine, technology, and National Socialism from the First World War to the postwar Cold War era, including comparative perspectives.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Biographies in the History of Physics
Book Subtitle: Actors, Objects, Institutions
Editors: Christian Forstner, Mark Walker
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48509-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-48508-5Published: 23 July 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-48511-5Published: 24 July 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-48509-2Published: 22 July 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VI, 324
Number of Illustrations: 31 b/w illustrations, 7 illustrations in colour
Topics: History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, History of Science, Measurement Science and Instrumentation, Societal Aspects of Physics, Outreach and Education