Description
Book SynopsisThis study examines small-scale experiments in physics, in particular the relation between theory and practice. The contributors focus on interactions among the people, materials and ideas involved in experiments.
Table of ContentsList of Figures Analytical Contents 1: Introduction Ian Hacking 2: Context and Constraints Peter L. Galison 3: Beyond Constraint: The Temporality of Practice and the Historicity of Knowledge Andrew Pickering 4: Experimenting in the Natural Sciences: A Philosophical Approach Hans Radder 5: Scientific Practice: The View from the Tabletop Brian S. Baigrie 6: Following Scientists through Society? Yes, but at Arm's Length! Yves Gingras 7: Why Hertz Was Right about Cathode Rays Jed Z. Buchwald 8: Is the Identification of Experimental Error Contextually Dependent? The Case of Kaufmann's Experiment and Its Varied Reception Giora Hon 9: Scientific Conclusions and Philosophical Arguments: An Inessential Tension Margaret Morrison 10: Where Experiments End: Tabletop Trials in Victorian Astronomy Simon Schaffer 11: The Sturdy Protestants of Science: Larmor, Trouton, and the Earth's Motion through the Ether Andrew Warwick Conclusion Jed Z. Buchwald, Sylvan S. Schweber. References Contributors Index
