Synopses & Reviews
White coats, Bunsen burners, beakers, flasks, and pipettesand#151;the furnishings of the chemistry laboratory are familiar to most of us from our school days, but just how did these items come to be the crucial tools of science? Examining the history of the laboratory, Peter J. T. Morris offers a unique way to look at the history of chemistry itself, showing how the development of the laboratory helped shape modern chemistry.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Chemists, Morris shows, are one of the leading drivers of innovation in laboratory design and technology. He tells of fascinating lineages of invention and innovation, for instance, how the introduction of coal gas into Robert Wilhelm Bunsenand#8217;s laboratory led to the eponymous burner, which in turn led to the development of atomic spectroscopy. Comparing laboratories across eras, from the furnace-centered labs that survived until the late eighteenth century to the cleanrooms of today, he shows how the overlooked aspects of scienceand#151;the architectural design and innovative tools that have facilitated its practiceand#151;have had a profound impact on what science has been able to do and, ultimately, what we have been able to understand. and#160;
Review
'Science for the Nation is more than a chronological account of the museum's history, fascinating as that story is. It also includes chapters on the museum staff and its library, buildings, collections, exhibitions and visitors...It is also an account of change...It is constantly changing and evolving, much like science itself.' - E and T
'It is an account with something new even for those well-versed in the museum's history.' - Life After the Museum Newsletter
'Successful in commemorating the Science Museum as an internationally important institution [...] It is a fitting and varied testament to the museum's first century and a half.' Richard Dunn, The Journal of BJHS
'...the Science Museum deserves credit for publishing a book that contributes to the study of museology, history of collections and the material culture of science.' - Science for the Nation
Review
andldquo;This lavishly illustrated portrait of the chemistandrsquo;s workplace provides a vividly written account of the evolution of the contemporary electronic-based laboratory from the workshops of early-modern metallurgists, alchemists, and pharmacists. Using key features such as furnaces, benches, cupboards, bottle racks, and fume cupboards, as well as gas, electricity, and water supplies, Morris shows how the changing character of chemical teaching and research influenced the building and fittings of laboratories in universities, industrial works, and official government laboratories. Text and illustrations combine to make a fresh and exciting way of looking at the history of chemistryandmdash;the science that makes our world.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;In recent years, much attention has been devoted to the protagonists of the history of chemistry, but the evolution of their workplace, the chemical laboratory, has remained until now almost completely unexplored territory. Morris sets things right in this lively and well-documented history. The book is not only an intellectual but also a visual feast, packed as it is with an extraordinary number of striking illustrationsandmdash;many of them new even to the specialistandrsquo;s eye.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;A revealing, illustrated tour of chemical laboratories, real ones, filled with real men and women, working especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and beyond to today. A fascinating history, as well as a highly enjoyable read.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Chemistry was probably the first of the sciences to get a room of its own, and in The Matter Factory, Morris offers the first book-length treatment of how this happened and what has changed in labs over the years. . . . The Matter Factory is the story of the years (and centuries) when chemistry was finding out what it could do. It covers a lot of ground and brings together many old drawings, plans, and photographs that are otherwise scattered through a bewildering literature trail. It should remain the definitive history of the chemistry lab for many years.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Surprisingly, there has been no comprehensive history of the chemistry laboratory, an omission put right in The Matter Factory by the distinguished historian, Morris. . . . The Matter Factory succeeds in describing the evolution of the chemistry laboratory. It is highly readable and well-illustrated, including numerous references. As such, it should be widely read by all who have had the privilege of studying and working in a chemistry laboratory.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Book of the Week. . . . Hugely enjoyable and insightful.andrdquo;andnbsp;
Review
andldquo;The Matter Factory is not a history of chemistry, of which there are plenty, but rather a history of the chemistry laboratory, of which there is none. . . . Having himself worked in the pharmaceutical industry and subsequently become a historian of chemistry, Morris is well placed to fill this gap, basing his account on an extensive search for, and analysis of, published illustrations and photographs of laboratories. His book is therefore copiously illustrated with images of both chemistry laboratoriesandmdash;in universities, industry, and governmentandmdash;and portraits of the inorganic and organic chemists who worked in them. . . . Morris has unearthed a rich array of laboratory images. . . . The level of detail in the book is valuable.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Arguing that changes in laboratory design were critical to enabling the progress of chemistry, Morris explores the origins and evolution of the chemistry laboratory, from medieval alchemy dens through todayandrsquo;s state-of-the-art facilities. Rich in detail and featuring an array of engravings, illustrations, and photographs, The Matter Factory is an unusual and engaging history.andrdquo;andnbsp;
Synopsis
An engaging study of a great national institution. Essays explore the changing roles of museums and the perceived public role of a museum of science and technology. Illuminates the ways in which we think about the collecting and display of objects and the often difficult relations between the state, business and industry, and museum funding.
Synopsis
Science for the Nation is a unique look at the history of a great national institution as well as a study of the changing roles of museums and the perceived public role that a museum of science and technology plays within larger society. It illuminates the ways in which we think about the collecting and display of scientific objects, and explores the changing and often difficult relations between the state, business and industry, and museum funding. The essays also examine the Science Museum in the context of other national museums in London, and show the key differences affecting their chosen paths and individual development.
Synopsis
From white coats to Bunsen burners, the laboratory is a controlled space of experimentation, research, and invention. But how have the desired functions of the laboratory influenced the way that the laboratory was constructed, laid out, equipped, and operated? And how have developments in chemical practice or theory changed the laboratory and the way it is used? By examining the history of the laboratory this book offers a novel approach to the history of chemistry, which shows how the development of the laboratory also helped to shape modern chemistry.
By acting as consumers of leading-edge technology, chemists have driven innovation in laboratory design and the provision of utilities and equipment. For example, the introduction of coal gas into Bunsenand#8217;s laboratory led to the development of the Bunsen burner, which in turn allowed the development of atomic spectroscopy. Is the construction of new laboratoriesand#8212;and the provision of new utilities and equipmentand#8212;an important element in the development of these novel areas of chemistry? Peter J. T. Morris tackles these questions by looking at a series of shifts in laboratory design: from furnace-centered examples that survived until the late eighteenth century, to the classical laboratory created in Germany (and London) in the mid-nineteenth century, to the rise of industrial research laboratory in the late nineteenth century, and finally the creation of the modern laboratory at the end of the twentieth.
About the Author
PETER MORRIS is Head of Research across the NMSI family of museums. He has published widely on the history of chemistry and the chemical industry and is currently completing a history of synthetic rubber in Germany. Morris is also editor of the leading history of chemistry journal, Ambix. He was given the Edelstein Award for excellence in the history of chemistry by the American Chemical Society in 2006.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Foreword; S.Schaffer
Introduction; P.Morris
1. Infected by the Bacillus of Science: The Explosion of South Kensington; R.Bud
2. The First Years: The Science Museum at War and Peace; T.Scheinfeldt
3. The Science Museum and the Second World War; T.Parsons III
4. Ambition and Anxiety: The Science Museum, 1950s to 1983; S.Anthony
5. Parallax Error? A Participant's Account of the Science Museum, c.1980-c.2000; T.Boon
6. Waves of Change: How The Science Museum's Library Rose, Fell and Rose Again; N.Wyatt
7. 'A Worthy and Suitable House' Science Museum Buildings and the Temporality of Space; D.Rooney
8. Exhibiting Science: Changing Conceptions of Science Museum Display; A.Nahum
9. Beyond the Children's Gallery: The Influence of Children on the Development of the Science Museum; A.Bunney
10. 'An Effective Organ of Public Enlightenment': The Role of Temporary Exhibitions in the Science Museum; P.Morris
11. Collecting for the Science Museum: Constructing the Collections, the Culture and the Institution; R.Bud
12. Lifting the Stone: Housing the Collections; J.Liffen
13. The International Context and the Context of Internationalism; T.Scheinfeldt
Afterword: The Museum of the Future; C.Rapley
Appendix1: List of Temporary Exhibitions from 1912 to 1983
Appendix2: List of Senior Staff from 1893 to 2000
Appendix3: Visitor Figures for the Science Museum from 1909 to 2008