The Ontology of the Questionnaire: Max Weber on Measurement and Mass Investigation

Although contemporary sociologists of science have sometimes claimed Max Weber as a methodological precursor, they have not examined Weber's own writings about science. Between 1908 and 1912 Weber published a series of critical studies of the extension of scientific authority into public life. The most notable of these concerned attempts to implement the experimental psychology or psycho-physics laboratory in factories and other real-world settings. Weber's critique centered on the problem of social measurement. He emphasized the discontinuities between the space of the laboratory and that of the factory, showing how several qualitative and historically conditioned differences between the two settings rendered the transfer of instruments and methods between them highly problematic. Weber's critical arguments prepared the ground for his greatest foray into empirical sociology, a survey he directed for the Verein für Sozialpolitik investigating the conditions and attitudes affecting the lives and performance of industrial workers. Using a different measuring instrument — the questionnaire — Weber tried to implement a concept of social measurement which implied a different ontology, drawn not from natural sciences but from the historical sciences.     

The genesis of a mediaeval historian: Pierre Duhem and the origins of statics

Contrary to what might be expected given a religious or other motivation, Pierre Duhem's interest in mediaeval science was the result of his surprise encounter with Jordanus de Nemore while working on Les origines de la statique in the late autumn of 1903. Historical assumptions common among physicists at that time may explain this surprise, which occasioned a frantic search for more mediaeval precursors for Renaissance mechanics. It also raised serious historiographical problems that threatened even his methodological views, until they were resolved in his To save the phenomena of 1908.     

Neue Vorschläge für Maschinen zur Beschleunigung elektrisch geladener Teilchen

Summary New proposals concerning machines for the acceleration of electrically charged particles are briefly described with two examples (heavy particles, electrons).     

SV40 association with human malignancies and mechanisms of tumor immunity by large tumor antigen

SV40 was discovered as a contaminate of poliovirus vaccine lots distributed to millions of individuals in the United States between 1955 and 1963 while contaminated vaccine batches were later circulated worldwide. After SV40 was observed to cause in vitro animal and human cell transformations and in vivo tumor formations in animals, the search for a connection between the virus and human malignancies has continued to the present day. Different molecular methods have been used to detect SV40 gene products in a variety of human cancers, though SV40 causality in these tumor types has yet to be established. These data, however, are not without controversial issues related to inconclusive SV40 serological and epidemiological evidence alongside tools and methodologies that may contribute to false-positive results in human specimens. This review will also explore how vaccination against SV40 protein products may be used to help prevent and treat individuals with SV40-expressing cancers. Received 19 September 2006; received after revision 8 November 2006; accepted 13 December 2006     

Pierre-Joseph Macquer an Eighteenth-Century Artisanal-Scientific Expert

Summary

Pierre-Joseph Macquer (1718–1784) is well known as one of the major chemists in the eighteenth century as a theoretician and a teacher. He is also known for his works on dyeing. This paper presents a new face of Macquer. He proposed a theory on mordants in dyeing as early as 1775. Besides his activity at the Académie des sciences, he played an important role in Government as the commissioner of dyeing from 1766 where he established close links with artisan inventors. Académicien chimiste at the royal Manufactory of Sèvres from 1757, he was also the inventor of French porcelain. His notebooks show his organization, method, courage, passion and obstinacy in the search for the paste for hard porcelain. He also proposed an interpretation of its formation. Macquer was both a theoretician and a practical expert in dyeing as well as in porcelain making. He managed to bridge the gap between science and art.     

On the verge of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Umdeutung</Emphasis> in Minnesota: Van Vleck and the correspondence principle. Part two

This is the second installment of a two-part paper on developments in quantum dispersion theory leading up to Heisenberg’s Umdeutung paper. In telling this story, we have taken a 1924 paper by John H. Van Vleck in The Physical Review as our main guide. In this second part we present the detailed derivations on which our narrative in the first part rests. The central result that we derive is the Kramers dispersion formula, which played a key role in the thinking that led to Heisenberg’s Umdeutung paper. We derive classical formulae for the dispersion, emission, and absorption of radiation and use Bohr’s correspondence principle to construct their quantum counterparts both for the special case of a charged harmonic oscillator (Sect. 5) and for arbitrary non-degenerate multiply-periodic systems (Sect. 6). We then rederive these results in modern quantum mechanics (Sect. 7). This paper was written as part of a joint project in the history of quantum physics of the Max Planck Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte and the Fritz-Haber-Institut in Berlin. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Max Planck Institute for History of Science. The research of Anthony Duncan is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant PHY-0554660.     

Zur Kenntnis des lamellaren Musters in ausgewachsenen und der Kristallgitterstruktur in jungen Chloroplasten

Summary (1) It is shown that in the chloroplasts ofChlamydomonas andAnthoceros thick, dense lamellae and thin, less dense lamellae alternate. (2) In the chloroplasts of many phanerogame plants with grana, thin less dense lamellae limit the parcel of thick grana-lamellae above and below. Since the differentiations 1 and 2 are present in the photographs of many publications (although not mentioned), it is suggested that this kind of lamellarmodel has often been overlooked until now. — The « Kristallgitterstruktur » has been found in a cryptogamous plant,Selaginella, in young chloroplasts, for the first time. The connection between the elementary particles of the crystal-lattice and the young lamellae has been verified again. — The possibility of formation of double lamellae by fusion of blastulae or tubuli is discussed in detail.     

Saving the Strong Programme: a critique of Stephen Kemp’s recent paper

In this paper I intend to discuss some of the views put forward by Stephen Kemp in his recent critique of the Strong Program (Kemp, 2005). In particular I will try to defend David Bloor’s SSK against the charge of weak idealism brought up by Stephen Kemp in his paper. The widely held accusation, namely, according to which the social constructionist approach to scientific knowledge is strongly idealist, is already rejected by Kemp himself. He argues, however that Bloor’s attempts to divert the charge of idealism from the Strong Programme were not successful with respect to the kind of idealism that Kemp calls ‘weak idealism’, that is, treating scientific discourse as free-floating and unrelated to the world of things. I intend to argue that Kemp’s charges are unfounded when levelled at Bloor’s views on meaning and reference. Kemp deals with two issues of the Bloorian program: with the social constructionist approach to concepts as self-referential social institutions, and with the actor/analyst distinction introduced by the Strong Programmers. I will focus only on the first issue in my paper.     

Fritz London and the scale of quantum mechanisms

Fritz London's seminal idea of “quantum mechanisms of macroscopic scale”, first articulated in 1946, was the unanticipated result of two decades of research, during which London pursued quantum-mechanical explanations of various kinds of systems of particles at different scales. He started at the microphysical scale with the hydrogen molecule, generalized his approach to chemical bonds and intermolecular forces, then turned to macrophysical systems like superconductors and superfluid helium. Along this path, he formulated a set of concepts—the quantum mechanism of exchange, the rigidity of the wave function, the role of quantum statistics in multi-particle systems, the possibility of order in momentum space—that eventually coalesced into a new conception of systems of equal particles. In particular, it was London's clarification of Bose-Einstein condensation that enabled him to formulate the notion of superfluids, and led him to the recognition that quantum mechanics was not, as it was commonly assumed, relevant exclusively as a micromechanics.     

Der Einfluß des elektrischen Ladungszustandes der Trägerfolie auf die elektronenmikroskopische Präparation von Kolloiden

Summary It is shown that the distribution of colloid particles on a thin film suitable for examination in the electron microscope depends on the charge of the particles and the film.     

James Franck,the ionization potential of helium,and the experimental discovery of metastable states

In 1920, James Franck together with Fritz Reiche and Paul Knipping found strong experimental evidence that the lowest-lying triplet state in helium is metastable—an atom in this state cannot make a spontaneous transition to the ground state. Even though their evidence was entirely experimental, they tied their results almost inextricably to Alfred Landé’s 1919 model of the helium atom, and in the process, misunderstood the new theoretical selection rules of Adalbert Rubinowicz and Niels Bohr. In an additional complication, experiments of the English physicists Frank Horton and Ann Catherine Davies contradicted Franck’s. Although Franck’s result has held up, the reasons for the discrepancies remain unclear.     

Zur Konstitution von Helvolinsäure und Cephalosporin P1

Summary On the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and in agreement with recently reported mass-spectrometric investigations it is shown that the molecular formulae of Helvolic acid and Cephalosporin P₁ must be revised to C₃₃H₄₄O₈ and C₃₃H₅₀O₈ respectively, and that the additional carbon atom is present as an angular methyl group.A comparison with the data obtained with fusidic acid points to a similarity among the three substances which is closer than hitherto suspected.     

Charles Darwin and the repugnant curators

Recently discovered documents have revealed the background to a letter published in The Darwin Correspondence, dated 21 February 1838 and sent to Charles Darwin and six others from John George Children of the British Museum. It concerned a complaint made by Edward Blyth about George Robert Gray, assistant in charge of birds at the museum. A response by Darwin, and 14 other referees, supported Gray's defence of his character, and the complaint was dismissed. It is concluded that Children investigated this complaint so vigorously because of recent criticism of the natural history collections by witnesses to the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the British Museum (1836–37), who sought to increase the involvement and influence of career scientists in the overseeing of the collections. Children may have also been sensitive to criticism because he was a controversial appointee.     

From aether impulse to QED: Sommerfeld and the Bremsstrahlen theory

The radiation that is due to the braking of charged particles has been in the focus of theoretical physics since the discovery of X-rays by the end of the 19th century. The impact of cathode rays in the anti-cathode of an X-ray tube that resulted in the production of X-rays led to the view that X-rays are aether impulses spreading from the site of the impact. In 1909, Arnold Sommerfeld calculated from Maxwell׳s equations the angular distribution of electromagnetic radiation due to the braking of electrons. He thereby coined the notion of “Bremsstrahlen.” In 1923, Hendrik A. Kramers provided a quantum theoretical explanation of this process by means of Bohr׳s correspondence principle. With the advent of quantum mechanics the theory of bremsstrahlung became a target of opportunity for theorists like Yoshikatsu Sugiura, Robert Oppenheimer, and–again–Sommerfeld, who presented in 1931 a comprehensive treatise on this subject. Throughout the 1930s, Sommerfeld׳s disciples in Munich and elsewhere extended and improved the bremsstrahlen theory. Hans Bethe and Walter Heitler, in particular, in 1934 presented a theory that was later regarded as “the most important achievement of QED in the 1930s” (Freeman Dyson). From a historical perspective the bremsstrahlen problem may be regarded as a probe for the evolution of theories in response to revolutionary changes in the underlying principles.     

On the solvent-extraction of acetylcholine receptor

Summary Chloroform/methanol rechromatography on Sephadex LH-20 of fractions isolated from organic solvent extracts ofE. electricus electric organs exhibited alterations in elution point compared to the original chromatography. Additionally,³H decamethonium bromide did not coelute with any of the observed fractions. It is concluded that as presently described the organic solvent isolation procedure for the cholinergic receptor exhibits undesirable characteristics.Acknowledgments. The authors thank Dan Burrough and Rick O'Brien for their competent technical assistance. Naval Medical Research Development and Command, Research Work Unit No. MRO41.06.01.0021. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of the writers and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the naval service at large.     

Elektronendichte und Polarität bei Benzol,Naphthalin und Anthracen

Summary For the aromatic molecules benzene, naphthalene, and anthracene a relation is found between dipole moment and dissociation constant of the hydroxy compounds and the carboxylic acids on the one hand and the-electron density at the respective carbon atom in the unsubstituted molecule on the other hand. The following statement can be made:—The-electron density at a carbon atom of these aromatic systems is found to increase with its positive character. The effect is explained by using an electrostatic model.     

Genetic effects of γ-radiation on natural populations ofDrosophila willistoni

Zusammenfassung Eine isolierte natürliche Population vonDrosophila willistoni erhielt während eines Jahres eine beträchtliche Beimischung von F₁-Co 60-bestrahlten Fliegen. Die genetische Analyse ergab, dass die Häufigkeit der letalen und semiletalen Allele nach 5 Generationen rasch wieder auf das Normale sank. Die Frequenz der Letalallele war allerdings noch hoch, gleich hoch wie in der in Massenkultur gehaltenen bestrahlten Zucht. Erst nach 15 Generationen sank sie zum Niveau der natürlichen Kontrollpopulation. Einzelne durch Bestrahlung erhaltene Letalallele blieben in der Population erhalten.

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Work developed (1957–1960) with grants in aid of the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas (CNP_q: Brazilian Nat. Council of Research) and the Rockefeller Foundation.We acknowledge the constant interest and suggestions of Dr.A. R. Cordeiro in charge of the general planning of the radiation genetics project.     

Newton's Easy Quadratures ``Omitted for the Sake of Brevity'

In the 1687 Principia, Newton gave a solution to the direct problem (given the orbit and center of force, find the central force) for a conic-section with a focal center of force (answer: a reciprocal square force) and for a spiral orbit with a polar center of force (answer: a reciprocal cube force). He did not, however, give solutions for the two corresponding inverse problems (given the force and center of force, find the orbit). He gave a cryptic solution to the inverse problem of a reciprocal cube force, but offered no solution for the reciprocal square force. Some take this omission as an indication that Newton could not solve the reciprocal square, for, they ask, why else would he not select this important problem? Others claim that ``it is child's play' for him, as evidenced by his 1671 catalogue of quadratures (tables of integrals). The answer to that question is obscured for all who attempt to work through Newton's published solution of the reciprocal cube force because it is done in the synthetic geometric style of the 1687 Principia rather than in the analytic algebraic style that Newton employed until 1671. In response to a request from David Gregory in 1694, however, Newton produced an analytic version of the body of the proof, but one which still had a geometric conclusion. Newton's charge is to find both ``the orbit' and ``the time in orbit.' In the determination of the dependence of the time on orbital position, t(r), Newton evaluated an integral of the form ∫dx/x <sup>n</sup> to calculate a finite algebraic equation for the area swept out as a function of the radius, but he did not write out the analytic expression for time t = t(r), even though he knew that the time t is proportional to that area. In the determination of the orbit, θ (r), Newton obtained an integral of the form ∫dx/√(1−x<sup>2</sup>) for the area that is proportional to the angle θ, an integral he had shown in his 1669 On Analysis by Infinite Equations to be equal to the arcsin(x). Since the solution must therefore contain a transcendental function, he knew that a finite algebraic solution for θ=θ(r) did not exist for ``the orbit' as it had for ``the time in orbit.' In contrast to these two solutions for the inverse cube force, however, it is not possible in the inverse square solution to generate a finite algebraic expression for either ``the orbit' or ``the time in orbit.' In fact, in Lemma 28, Newton offers a demonstration that the area of an ellipse cannot be given by a finite equation. I claim that the limitation of Lemma 28 forces Newton to reject the inverse square force as an example and to choose instead the reciprocal cube force as his example in Proposition 41. (Received August 14, 2002) Published online March 26, 2003 Communicated by G. Smith     

Beitrag zur Ätiologie der Hexenbesenkrankheit der KakteeOpuntia tuna (=tuna monstrosa)

Summary Mycoplasma-like bodies, as well as virus-like particles, were observed in phloem elements ofOpuntia tuna monstrosa. The mycoplasma-like bodies, but not the virus-like particles, disappeared in tetracycline hydrochloride treated plants, which indicated a mycoplasma etiology of the witches' broom disease ofOpuntia tuna.

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This investigation was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Science Foundation No. GB-11861, Washington, D.C.