Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) [Hardcover]

Myles W. Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0262100843 | ISBN-13: 978-0262100847 | Edition: 1

In the nineteenth century, scientific practice underwent a dramatic transformation from personal endeavor to business enterprise. In Spectrum of Belief, Myles Jackson explores this transformation through a sociocultural history of the rise of precision optics in Germany. He uses the career of the optician Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826) to probe the relationship between science and society, and between artisans and experimental natural philosophers, during this important transition.Fraunhofer came from a long line of glassmakers. Orphaned at age eleven, the young apprentice moved in with his master, the court decorative glass cutter. At age nineteen, bored with his work and angered by his master's refusal to allow him to study optical theory, Fraunhofer took a position at the Optical Institute assisting in the manufacture of achromatic lenses. Within ten years he was producing the world's finest achromatic lenses and prisms.Housed in an old Benedictine monastery, Fraunhofer's laboratory mirrored the labor of the monks. Because of his secrecy (after his death, even those who had worked most closely with him could not achieve his success), British experimental natural philosophers were unable to reproduce his work. This secrecy, while guaranteeing his institute's monopoly, thwarted Fraunhofer's attempts to gain credibility within the scientific community, which looked down on artisanal work and its clandestine practices as an affront. The response to the ensuing rise of German optical technology sheds light on crucial social, economic, and political issues of the period, such as mechanization, patent law reform, the role of skills in both physics and society, the rise of Mechanics' Institutes, and scientific patronage. After his death, Fraunhofer's example was used in the newly united Germany to argue for the merging of scientific research and technological innovation with industrial and state support.

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About the Author

Myles W. Jackson is Dibner Family Professor of History of Science and Technology at Polytechnic University, New York City. He is the author of Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (MIT Press, 2000), which was winner of the Paul-Bunge-Prize of the German Chemical Society in 2005 for an outstanding contribution to the study of scientific instruments.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1 edition (September 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262100843
• ISBN-13: 978-0262100847
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, October 16, 2010

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This review is from: Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

Perfect book for my Astronomy research paper on Joseph Von Fraunhofer's life; packed full of detailed information on the historical, political, financial, social, and scientific implication of this time in history.

4.0 out of 5 stars physics and society, December 16, 2008

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W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

To many physics students, Fraunhofer is just a name associated with classical optics (Cf. Optics by Hecht and Zajac, for example.) Jackson gives us the history of the man, putting him in the context of the Europe and Germany of his time.

Careful readers might appreciate the bootstrapping problems faced by Fraunhofer. With the primitive technology of that era, how can you accurately calibrate and measure anything? Part of Fraunhofer's genius was his ability to devise instruments to answer this as best as could be done.

In the book, we see as much about the politics and the academic structure of the German universities as there are discussions about the underlying physics. His discoveries and inventions were not universally and readily understood.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius at Work, December 7, 2004

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Adam Poush (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) (Hardcover)

You must read this book because it greatly adds knowledge to your brain. I had the great fortune to witness Myles Jackson teach, and easily reccomed this book to all.