Abstract More than other history of science subfields, histories of instrumentation have considered the industrial dimensions of scientific knowledge. A few industries figure repeatedly in such histories: telecommunications; agribusiness; defense. We argue that the oil industry has been remarkably innovative in scientific instrumentation and indeed helped drive instrumentation R&D in other industries. These contributions are examples of “oil spillovers”—flows of people, money, ideas, technologies between the oil industry and other industries or scientific fields. Viewing scientific instruments as oil spillovers helps resolve some old historiographic questions and raises new ones. In this article, we show that nuclear instruments were applied, scaled up, and developed during the Manhattan Project in close collaboration with the oil industry. We also briefly show that various nuclear technologies based on oil industry instrumentation continued to be improved postwar by oil companies such as Exxon, sometimes with the help of well-known scientists such as Hans Bethe.
Abstract “What is a scientific instrument, when did it become one, and why?” the provocative question asked by Deborah Jean Warner in 1990 remains a valid one today. This special issue offers a range of reflections and proposals regarding the current state, perspectives, and challenges of writing the history of scientific instrumentation offered by recent recipients of the Paul Bunge Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation.
Abstract This paper argues that Digby is a life eliminativist. That is, in Digby’s ontology of the material world, living bodies do not constitute a real ontological category. To defend this view, the paper proceeds as follows: it first discusses Digby’s ontology of bodies to show that the traditional categories of the living and the non-living are governed by the same natural philosophical principles. It then examines why life cannot be a fundamental feature of all or some material bodies. Next, it considers and rejects attempts to treat life as a higher-order material property, including the identification of living bodies with essential compounds, whether defined solely by self-motion, or by self-motion together with functions typically associated with living things. Finally, the paper responds to an objection arising from Digby’s discussion of palingenesis.
Abstract One of the most innovative contributions to mineralogy by Georgius Agricola, destined to exert a long-lasting influence, was the introduction of the concept of “congealed juices” ( succi concreti ). This category encompassed hard substances that dissolve or soften upon contact with water, intended to explain the distinctive physico-chemical properties of certain minerals that defied classification within ancient or medieval geological frameworks. This paper argues that this innovation was not developed ex nihilo , but rather drew clear inspiration from ancient medico-physiological theories, with which Agricola was extremely familiar given his established background as a humanist and philologist well-versed in ancient Greek medical literature. The underlying notion is in turn rooted in the Aristotelian conception of natural matter, meaning that Agricola, while seeking to rectify Aristotle’s mineralogical system, was in fact operating within the same paradigm.
Abstract Why did Julius Caesar Scaliger critically discuss Theophrastus’s views on plant degeneration? This article argues that the motivation behind Scaliger’s critique can be found in his rejection of the emergentist view that substantial forms and their powers cannot be reduced to the causal powers of the constituents of the composite bodies on which they depend. The phenomenon of plant degeneration challenges Scaliger’s anti-emergentism because it suggests that sufficiently complex material composites can bring forth substantial forms that belong to new species. Moreover, Scaliger interpreted Theophrastus’s account of plant degeneration as being committed to the occurrence of powers irreducible to the powers of plant parts. Scaliger’s analysis of plant degeneration can be understood as an attempt at reconciling a version of species constancy with a version of species mutability that is not committed to emergentism.
Abstract ‘Manner’ was a term that was very widespread before being progressively replaced by ‘style’ since the second half of the eighteenth century. First, this article reviews the twentieth-century debate on this topic to clarify certain points regarding Vasari’s lexical choices and the method used to create periodising labels. These initial observations allow to move on to a subsequent analysis of the France of Louis XIV , in which the Academicians questioned the intrinsic and extrinsic causes of manner, before arriving in the heart of the eighteenth century, specifically with the case of Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d’Argenville, to highlight the strong links between art and science within the classificatory method. The many voices of the authors involved will help to elucidate the extent to which the parameters of manner, and thus style, have been decisive in classification systems.
Abstract Compared to Western Europe, Eastern Europe experienced fewer documented instances of significant garden design concepts, stylistic developments, or horticultural practices (such as herbaria and plant collections) during the 17th and 18th centuries. While this does not imply a complete absence of such developments, the available historical and scholarly records remain limited. Nonetheless, in the region of Wallachia, under the rule of Constantin Brâncoveanu (1654–1714), several churches, monasteries, and private palaces were built in various locations, primarily along major routes leading to Transylvania. Most of these buildings were accompanied by large and richly arranged gardens. Despite being among the very few documented gardens created in this area during the 17th and 18th centuries, and despite the fact that some of them are still extant, these gardens have been the subject of limited research, and their historical development remains insufficiently studied.
Abstract Why do museums exhibit historic scientific instruments? I argue that these instruments, and many other items as well, serve primarily as relics, putting visitors in contact with notable persons, places, or events.
Abstract Since the mid-nineteenth century, the global market for scientific objects expanded through the mass production of visual tools for teaching and studying science. As scientific education developed in Europe, America, and Australia, various actors facilitated the production and circulation of didactic objects, establishing scientific networks and commercial circuits that ensured their success. This study focuses on the Robert Brendel company, renowned for its three-dimensional papier-mâché botanical models, which featured precise anatomical details and disassemblable parts for internal observation. Through an analysis of its catalogues, historical sources, and collections, it examines how Brendel’s production (1860–1920) set a new standard that distinguished the company from its competitors. Supported by the scientific community and driven by technical expertise, the company successfully met the growing demand for accurate botanical representations. This case highlights the role of scientific networks and technical skills in shaping global commercial strategies and advancing botanical knowledge.
Abstract This article examines how early modern artillery treatises became hybrid spaces of knowledge in which military, artisanal, philosophical, and artistic traditions converged around the uses of gunpowder. It reconstructs the formation of a shared experimental and visual culture shaped by the mobility of gunners, the circulation of technical manuscripts, and the contributions of alchemists, natural philosophers, and court artists. The study highlights the decisive role of military expertise in shaping festive pyrotechnics: many recreational devices emerged directly from techniques, materials, and practices originally developed for warfare, giving early pyrotechnic books a conceptual and technical foundation rooted in martial traditions. Through an analysis of treatises, illustrations, and scenographic devices, the article shows how these military resources were adapted to ceremonial contexts, generating a transnational repertoire that linked warfare, festivity, and artistic display. Approaching these treatises as cultural artefacts reveals how pyrotechnics contributed to redefining the intellectual identity of the artilleryman.
