Among the most influential and well-known experiments of the 19th century was the generation and ... more Among the most influential and well-known experiments of the 19th century was the generation and detection of electromagnetic radiation by Heinrich Hertz in 1887-1888, work that bears favorable comparison for experimental ingenuity and influence with that by Michael Faraday in the 1830s and 1840s. In what follows, we pursue issues raised by what Hertz did in his experimental space to produce and to detect what proved to be an extraordinarily subtle effect. Though he did provide evidence for the existence of such radiation that other investigators found compelling, nevertheless Hertz's data and the conclusions he drew from it ran counter to the claim of Maxwell's electrodynamics that electric waves in air and wires travel at the same speed. Since subsequent experiments eventually suggested otherwise, the question arises of just what took place in Hertz's. The difficulties attendant on designing, deploying, and interpreting novel apparatus go far in explaining his results, which were nevertheless sufficiently convincing that other investigators, and Hertz himself, soon took up the challenge of further investigation based on his initial designs. Communicated by Jed Buchwald.
We thank Bill Harper and George Smith for helpful discussions, and especially Erik Curiel and Nic... more We thank Bill Harper and George Smith for helpful discussions, and especially Erik Curiel and Niccolo Guicciardini for detailed comments on earlier drafts. The usual caveats apply. Sections 1.3.6 and 1.4.1 overlap with forthcoming publications by one of us: Eric Schliesser "Newton and Newtonianism" in the Oxford Handbook to Eighteenth Century British Philosophy, edited by James Harris, Oxford: Oxford University Press, and Eric Schliesser "Newton and European Philosophy" in The Routledge Guide to Eighteenth Century Philosophy, edited by Aaron Garrett, London: Routledge. 85 This appears in a footnote at the end of 7.1.25, in (Hume, 2000). Regarding Hume's terminology, God is a first cause whereas laws or forces are secondary causes that act within nature.
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, 1992
ABSTRACT Despite the substantial and important differences between Achinstein and Laudan, many hi... more ABSTRACT Despite the substantial and important differences between Achinstein and Laudan, many historians of science would see little distinction between them. Both of these philosophers believe and strongly maintain that argumentation was a central aspect of the historical events involved in the establishment of wave optics. Contemporary historians would prefer to ask whether argumentation did much work at all - whether, that is, anyone ever actually persuaded anyone else to change a belief. I will attempt briefly to show that issues of skilled knowledge, tacit understanding, and novel instrumentation, rather than straightforward assertions based on the overt structure of the contending theories, offer a better way to understand what took place.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 00033790701406982, Aug 9, 2010
Descartes's model for the invisible world has long seemed confined to explanations of known ... more Descartes's model for the invisible world has long seemed confined to explanations of known phenomena, with little if anything to offer concerning the empirical investigation of novel processes. Although he did perform experiments, the links between them and the Cartesian model remain difficult to pin down, not least because there are so very few. Indeed, the only account that Descartes ever developed which invokes his model in relation to both quantitative implications and to experiments is the one that he provided for the rainbow. There he described in considerable detail the appearances of colours generated by means of prisms in specific circumstances. We have reproduced these experiments with careful attention to Descartes's requirements. The results provide considerable insight into the otherwise fractured character of his printed discovery narrative. By combining reproduction with attention to the rhetorical structure of Descartes's presentation, we can show that he worked his model in conjunction with experiments to reach a fully quantitative account of the rainbow, including its colours as well as its geometry. In this one instance at least, Descartes produced just the sort of explanatory novelties that the young Newton later did in optics. That Descartes's results in respect to colour are in hindsight specious is of course irrelevant.
Among the most influential and well-known experiments of the 19th century was the generation and ... more Among the most influential and well-known experiments of the 19th century was the generation and detection of electromagnetic radiation by Heinrich Hertz in 1887-1888, work that bears favorable comparison for experimental ingenuity and influence with that by Michael Faraday in the 1830s and 1840s. In what follows, we pursue issues raised by what Hertz did in his experimental space to produce and to detect what proved to be an extraordinarily subtle effect. Though he did provide evidence for the existence of such radiation that other investigators found compelling, nevertheless Hertz's data and the conclusions he drew from it ran counter to the claim of Maxwell's electrodynamics that electric waves in air and wires travel at the same speed. Since subsequent experiments eventually suggested otherwise, the question arises of just what took place in Hertz's. The difficulties attendant on designing, deploying, and interpreting novel apparatus go far in explaining his results, which were nevertheless sufficiently convincing that other investigators, and Hertz himself, soon took up the challenge of further investigation based on his initial designs. Communicated by Jed Buchwald.
We thank Bill Harper and George Smith for helpful discussions, and especially Erik Curiel and Nic... more We thank Bill Harper and George Smith for helpful discussions, and especially Erik Curiel and Niccolo Guicciardini for detailed comments on earlier drafts. The usual caveats apply. Sections 1.3.6 and 1.4.1 overlap with forthcoming publications by one of us: Eric Schliesser "Newton and Newtonianism" in the Oxford Handbook to Eighteenth Century British Philosophy, edited by James Harris, Oxford: Oxford University Press, and Eric Schliesser "Newton and European Philosophy" in The Routledge Guide to Eighteenth Century Philosophy, edited by Aaron Garrett, London: Routledge. 85 This appears in a footnote at the end of 7.1.25, in (Hume, 2000). Regarding Hume's terminology, God is a first cause whereas laws or forces are secondary causes that act within nature.
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, 1992
ABSTRACT Despite the substantial and important differences between Achinstein and Laudan, many hi... more ABSTRACT Despite the substantial and important differences between Achinstein and Laudan, many historians of science would see little distinction between them. Both of these philosophers believe and strongly maintain that argumentation was a central aspect of the historical events involved in the establishment of wave optics. Contemporary historians would prefer to ask whether argumentation did much work at all - whether, that is, anyone ever actually persuaded anyone else to change a belief. I will attempt briefly to show that issues of skilled knowledge, tacit understanding, and novel instrumentation, rather than straightforward assertions based on the overt structure of the contending theories, offer a better way to understand what took place.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 00033790701406982, Aug 9, 2010
Descartes's model for the invisible world has long seemed confined to explanations of known ... more Descartes's model for the invisible world has long seemed confined to explanations of known phenomena, with little if anything to offer concerning the empirical investigation of novel processes. Although he did perform experiments, the links between them and the Cartesian model remain difficult to pin down, not least because there are so very few. Indeed, the only account that Descartes ever developed which invokes his model in relation to both quantitative implications and to experiments is the one that he provided for the rainbow. There he described in considerable detail the appearances of colours generated by means of prisms in specific circumstances. We have reproduced these experiments with careful attention to Descartes's requirements. The results provide considerable insight into the otherwise fractured character of his printed discovery narrative. By combining reproduction with attention to the rhetorical structure of Descartes's presentation, we can show that he worked his model in conjunction with experiments to reach a fully quantitative account of the rainbow, including its colours as well as its geometry. In this one instance at least, Descartes produced just the sort of explanatory novelties that the young Newton later did in optics. That Descartes's results in respect to colour are in hindsight specious is of course irrelevant.
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