Science history : a traveler's guide

370 Pages·2014·32.624 MB·English

by  Orna, Mary Virginia

Science History:
A Traveler’s Guide

In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
1179
ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES
Science History:
A Traveler’s Guide
Mary Virginia Orna, Editor
The College of New Rochelle
New Rochelle, New York
Sponsored by the
ACSDivisionoftheHistoryofChemistry

AmericanChemicalSociety,Washington,DC
DistributedinprintbyOxfordUniversityPress
In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Sciencehistory:atraveler’sguide/MaryVirginiaOrna,editor,TheCollegeof
NewRochelle,NewRochelle,NewYork;sponsoredbytheACSDivisionoftheHistoryof
Chemistry.
pagescm.-- (ACSsymposiumseries;1179)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8412-3020-0(alk.paper)
1. Science--History.2. Sciencemuseums--Guidebooks.3. Chemistry--History.
I.Orna,MaryVirginia,editor.II.AmericanChemicalSociety.DivisionoftheHistoryof
Chemistry.
Q105.A1S372014
509--dc23
2014040142
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In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
Foreword
The ACS Symposium Series was first published in 1974 to provide a
mechanism for publishing symposia quickly in book form. The purpose of
the series is to publish timely, comprehensive books developed from the ACS
sponsoredsymposiabasedoncurrentscientificresearch. Occasionally,booksare
developed from symposia sponsored by other organizations when the topic is of
keeninteresttothechemistryaudience.
Beforeagreeingtopublishabook,theproposedtableofcontentsisreviewed
forappropriateandcomprehensivecoverageandforinteresttotheaudience. Some
papersmaybeexcludedtobetterfocusthebook;othersmaybeaddedtoprovide
comprehensiveness. When appropriate, overview or introductory chapters are
added. Draftsofchaptersarepeer-reviewedpriortofinalacceptanceorrejection,
andmanuscriptsarepreparedincamera-readyformat.
As a rule, only original research papers and original review papers are
included in the volumes. Verbatim reproductions of previous published papers
arenotaccepted.
ACSBooksDepartment

In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
Editor’s Biography
Mary Virginia Orna
MaryVirginiaOrna,ProfessorofChemistryatTheCollegeofNewRochelle,
received a B.S. in Chemistry from Chestnut Hill College, and M.S. and Ph.D.
degreesinAnalyticalChemistryfromFordhamUniversity. Herresearchinterests
include pigment and dye analysis of archaelogical artifacts and, in particular,
of medieval manuscripts. She is the author or editor of 14 books (including
ACS Symposium Series volumes) and over a hundred encyclopedia, journal,
and monograph articles. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a
FulbrightFellowshipforIsrael,theACSGeorgeC.PimentelAwardinChemical
Education (1999) and the ACS Volunteer Service Award (2009). In 1990, in
collaboration with John T. Stock of the University of Connecticut, she began
conducting study tours for students as partial fulfillment of the requirements of
acourseinthehistoryofscience. Thesestudytoursexpandedovertheyearsto
include adult learners; they also broadened their scope to include most of the
venuesdescribedinthisvolume.

©2014AmericanChemicalSociety
In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
Chapter 1
Science History on the Road:
An Overview
Mary Virginia Orna*
DepartmentofChemistry,TheCollegeofNewRochelle,
NewRochelle,NewYork10805,UnitedStates
*E-mail: [email protected]
Whilethepresentvolumehaditsoriginsinasymposiumheldat
the237thNationalACSMeetinginSaltLakeCity,thecontent
hasbeengreatlyexpandedtoincludemanyadditionalsites. This
introductorychapteroutlinestherationale, goalsandcoverage
of the book and includes some practical helpful information
aboutitsuse.
Origins of the Volume
WhenPaulandBrendaCohenbegantheirbook(1)withthesewords,“Why
write a book on travel to places with scientific content?” and then proceeded to
outlinetheirreasons,thisstruckachordinmywanderingsoul. Formanyyears,I
hadbeenawareoftheirregularcolumnintheJournalofCollegeScienceTeaching
(2), and for perhaps just as long, I knew of John Wotiz’s legendary “forced

marches”acrossthefaceofEurope,IronCurtainnotwithstanding(3). AndI,too,
was a scientific traveler of a sort, having organized and taught for more than a
decadeanundergraduatecoursecalled“HistoryofScienceandMathematics”that
includedatwo-weektravelcomponenttoEnglandandScotlandinalternateyears.
During that decade, I became acquainted, through the good graces of John T.
Stock(1911-2005),anACSDivisionoftheHistoryofChemistrycolleaguefrom
theUniversityofConnecticut(andanativeLondoner),withmanyofthe“movers
andshakers”inthehistoryofscience,andparticularlythehistoryofchemistry,in
theU.K.: RobertG.W.Anderson,formerDirectoroftheRoyalScottishMuseum
and of the British Museum; Peter J. T. Morris of the London Science Museum
whoknowsscientificLondonlikethebackofhishand;andFrankA.J.L.James,
prolificauthorandincomparableFaradayscholarattheRoyalInstitution.
©2014AmericanChemicalSociety
In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
In the late 1990s, as the popularity of my course waned among my
undergraduatestudents,foravarietyofreasonsthatincludedadeclineinfunding
and changes in curriculum requirements, my tours to the U.K. gained adherents
among faculty and other ACS colleagues from around the country. Word of
mouth is a powerful communicator, and soon I had a mailing list of almost 100
potential and past participants who were eager to get out on the road but with a
themed and structured program that provided intellectual stimulation – and not
all of them were chemists or even scientists! So almost another decade passed
when,in2009,Idecideditwastimeto“gopublic”andinformtheACSworldof
thesetourswhichhad,inthemeantime,branchedouttotheEuropeancontinent.
Among the speakers that I had lined up for a symposium at the Salt Lake City
ACSmeetinginthespringof2009wereapersonwhohadparticipatedinaJohn
Wotiztour,somewhohadparticipatedinmyowntours,somewhohadorganized
and participated in the Science History Tours run by Yvonne Twomey and Lee
Marek,anIsraeli,ZviKoren,whoproposedanarchaeologicalstudytourofIsrael,
and a “flight of fancy” tour to some almost improbable sites by Carmen Giunta,
presentlyEditoroftheBulletinfortheHistoryofChemistry. Withsuchastellar
cast, it is no wonder that the ACS invited me to organize the talks into an ACS
SymposiumSeriesvolume.
Goals for the Development of This Volume
So what is different about this volume? The Cohens’s book is targeted
scientifictravel. Itdevotesatleastoneor2pagestoover250scientifictreasures
in the United States, to sites as eclectically diverse as the National Museum of
RollerSkatinginLincoln,NEandtheFermiNationalAcceleratorLaboratoryin
Batavia,IL.Theircriteriaforincludingeachsiteasa“treasure”were: thecontent
and completeness of the collection had to be special, the site had to provide an
educationalcomponent,andthepresentationoftheexhibitshadtobebeyondthe
ordinary. Could my Symposium Series volume live up to these expectations?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this volume would have to
bedifferent,andyetcomplementarytotheCohens’sgoals.
First of all, my study tours had as one of its goals learning science through

traveltositeswherethescienceactuallyhappened,aprivilegeavailableonlysince
thelatterpartofthepastcentury. Anothergoalwastodescribehowsuchtravelcan
interfacewiththeprofessionalgoalsofchemistsinacademe,industry,andother
areas of endeavor. In accomplishing these goals in detailing places of scientific
interestthroughoutEurope,Israel,andothernon-Europeanvenues,Irealizedthat
thebookcouldprovideitsreaderswiththefollowinginsights:
Visitstoplacesimportantinthehistoryofsciencecanprovideteacherswith
interestingexperiencestouseinbroadeningtheirsciencecurricula.
Emphasisonthechemistrybackgroundofeachofthesiteswouldbehelpful
tochemistryteachersandotherchemistsalike.
Thescientificandtechnologicaldevelopmentsofothercultures,thematerials
theyused,theextentofinternationalcommerceingoodsandcraftscanimpacton
ourownunderstandingofhowscienceistaughtandpracticedintheUSA.
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In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
Even vicarious visits to faraway places of scientific interest can enrich the
homeboundorthoseunabletotravel.
It would be possible to plan a scientifically-oriented visit to a place not
necessarilyassociatedwithscience.
It would be possible to plan a scientifically-oriented visit to well-known
scientific sites armed with information not necessarily available on the internet
oringuidebooks.
Volume Outline and Content
While the book is broadly scientific and treats areas other than chemistry,
where appropriate, chemistry is the highlighted science. The book is also
organized on the “base city” principle whenever possible: certain cities are
hubs from which the traveler can branch out to other venues of interest. This is
certainly true of London, Paris, Stockholm, and to a certain extent Prague and
Vienna. Thefirstpartofthisbookisanoverview,firstbywayofthischapter,and
secondly, by way of the incomparable narrative of a John Wotiz tour by Leigh
Wilson. The second part of the book consists of four chapters on the sites in
the British Isles: London and environs, including Oxford, the Royal Institution,
Cambridge and Scotland. The third part of the book contains eight chapters on
sitesincontinentalEuropemovingfromnorthtosouthandthenwesttoeast. The
finaltwochapterstakeusbeyondEuropeansciencetoencompassthearchaeology
of Israel and fanciful journeys to far-flung Asia, Africa, and North and South
America. The bibliography at the end of this chapter, while it concentrates on
Europe,alsoincludesreferencestositesintheUnitedStatesandelsewhere.
Theauthorsofthevariouschapters,includingmanyalreadymentioned,have
first-handknowledgeandinmanyinstances,professionalexpertise,withrespectto
thehistoryofthesites. HavinglivedinRomeforthepast5years(whichpartially
explainsthedelayinpublishingthisvolume),Ihavevisitedthescientificvenues
in Italy many times and have also become an associate member of the History
SectionoftheItalianChemicalSociety. MarcoFontani,acolleagueintheItalian
Chemical Society and co-author of The Lost Elements (4), writes knowledgably
andlovinglyofscienceinFlorence,thecityofhisbirth. LeighWilsongivesusa

first-handexperience(Figure1)ofwhatitwasliketotravelononeofJohnWotiz’s
legendaryforaysintotheCommunistbloc,completewithtalesofaggressiveguard
dogs(andguards)!
GaryPatterson,ChiefBibliophileoftheBoltonSociety,treatsustosomeof
thetreasurestobefoundattheFitzwilliamandWhippleMuseumsinCambridge.
Jan Hayes, Roger Rea, and David Katz delight us with their insights into
the scientific joys of southern Germany, Eastern Europe, and Copenhagen,
respectively. Roland Adunka, Founding Director of the Auer von Welsbach
Museum,beckonsustothewonderfullittletownofAlthofenwhereonecanenjoy
Alpine views, medieval castles and cathedrals, and unique industrial sites along
with a visit to his museum, which documents the incredible accomplishments
of the nobleman and chemist who laid claim to discovering four elements. Jim
and Jenny Marshall take us on a rollicking adventure through Sweden, Finland,
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In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;
and Norway (and a smidgen of Germany) to seemingly inaccessible sites, some
markedwithonlyamailbox,intheirsearchfortheoriginalminesandlaboratories
wheremanyof30-some-oddelementswerediscovered. Hangontoyourseatsas
wetakeoff–youareinforaspecialtreat!
Figure1. Travelersinthe1985SouthernIllinoisUniversityHistoryofChemistry
Tour. JohnWotizisinthethirdrowslightlytotheleftofcenter. Photograph
courtesyofLarryWestmoreland.
Practical Information
Here is some practical information on what you may find in some of the
chaptersorvenues:

Navigation Using GPS (Global Positioning System). When Selective
Availability was discontinued by President Bill Clinton in the year 2000, high
resolution GPS became available to the general public (20 meters). This has
resultedintheproliferationofcommercialdedicatedGPSreceivers,nowroutinely
used by travelers and hikers. Persons who visit Europe may generally use their
pre-set dedicated GPS units in Europe -- either automobile or hand-held -- if
they procure the European packages, available on the map shop of the pertinent
website.
Sometimes more convenient are apps on smart phones. Perhaps the most
popular app is Google Maps, a system that was launched in 2005 and has
progressed through several improvements. A traveler usually can immediately
use this app in Europe (sometimes, one must formally activate the “European
plan”tosavemoney).
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In Science History: A Traveler’s Guide; Orna;