
An Empire Of Magnetism: Global Science And The British Magnetic Enterprise In The Age Of Imperialism Provides An In-depth Study Of What, In The Mid-nineteenth Century, Was Celebrated As The Most Extensive State-orchestrated Scientific Enterprise Ever Conducted. During The 1840s And 1850s, The British Government Financed A Worldwide Investigation Into How The Earth's Magnetic Phenomena Operated, Consisting Of A Network Of Naval Expeditions And Colonial Observatories. Questions Surrounding Terrestrial Magnetism Were Not Just Philosophical, But Also Engendered Urgent Concerns Over The Accurate Navigation On Which Britain's Commercial And Colonial Power Depended. With The Guidance Of A Powerful Lobby Of Scientific And Social Elites, The British State Was Able To Mobilize The Extensive Resources Of Its Empire To The Collection Of Magnetic Data Through Carefully Coordinated Observations. Yet, As An Empire Of Magnetism Argues, The Experimental Instruments And Techniques Required To Conduct This Work Were To Be Found Amid Britain's Booming Industry, Where The Harnessing Of Coal And Iron, And Use Of Steam Power, Shaped A Scientific Culture Prominently Concerned With The Relationship Between Heat, Pressure, And Motion. In Particular, It Was Philosophical Apparatus Fashioned Within The Mines Of Cornwall That The Government Was Able To Conscript Within The Worldwide Magnetic Investigation.
This book investigates how the British state mobilized its imperial resources and industrial expertise to conduct a massive, mid-nineteenth-century global scientific survey of terrestrial magnetism. Edward John Gillin, a historian of science, argues that the success of this state-orchestrated enterprise relied heavily on experimental techniques and apparatuses developed within the context of Cornwall's mining industry. By linking the study of magnetism to the practical needs of navigation and the technological advancements of the steam age, the author demonstrates how scientific knowledge was inextricably tied to the expansion of British commercial and colonial power.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Historians of science and imperialism recognize this work as a significant contribution to understanding the material culture of nineteenth-century scientific practice. Scholars frequently note the author's ability to bridge the gap between industrial history and the history of global scientific networks.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
1900-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0191996122
ISBN-13:
9780191996122
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