Many of us feel that technology threatens our relationships and ‘usual’ modes of human interaction. But so did the Victorians.
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Articles on History of science
Displaying 101 - 120 of 122 articles
We take our understanding of the solar system for granted, but it took centuries to figure out. The original writings of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo and others show how they sparked a revolution.
The relentless pursuit of showy flowers for garden display – as seen at Chelsea Flower Show – has seen some odd uses of radiation and chemicals .
Mary Shelley’s diaries reveal that in 1814 she attended a lecture that Andrew Crosse, “thunder and lightning man”, delivered in London.
It may have been big, slow and lacking in much memory but almost seven decades on we have a lot to thank the creators of Australia’s first programmable computing machine.
As a Jesuit, Pope Francis is part of a long tradition of religious men of science. Will his leadership influence the Catholic Church’s stance on contemporary scientific issues?
In the long lead-up to our ultimate flyby of Pluto, space science has reconfigured our notions of what it means to be a solar system, a planet, a world.
The first atom bomb test seventy years ago today marks the start of a change in Americans’ thinking about radiation. On balance, our nuclear anxieties endure today.
The history of race science is a history of racist science, as epitomized by this proposed but never carried-out experiment from the early 20th century.
For all the exciting stories and developments that basic science research produces, there is one question that the public never tires of asking: “What are the possible applications of that discovery…
Alexander von Humboldt – sometimes called the last Renaissance man – was born in Berlin 250 years ago. His influence on science is still felt today.
Alan Turing is one of the world’s best-known mathematicians, and probably the best known in the past century. This is partly for his work on cracking German codes in World War II, and partly for his arrest…
The history of science is full of episodes when a seemingly ludicrous theory is ridiculed, but then slowly gathers evidence and support to move from the fringes to the heart of the scientific consensus…
Brain-training programmes are all the rage. They are part of a growing digital brain-health industry that earned more than US$1 billion in revenue in 2012 and is estimated to reach US$6 billion by 2020…
JT Carrington, editor of the popular science magazine Science-Gossip, achieved a remarkable feat in December of 1894. He found a subject on which the Duke of Argyll, a combative anti-Darwinian, and Thomas…
In the world of sport, we remember a winner. Not many people have heard of Pierre Rolland, who finished eighth in the 2012 Tour de France. But everyone knows Bradley Wiggins, who won it. The history of…
A 13th century bishop’s theory about the formation of the universe has intriguing parallels with the theory of multiple universes. This was uncovered by the the Ordered Universe project at Durham University…
For thousands of years, people believed their future could be read in the lines etched into the palm of their hands. The ancient art of palmistry, originating in India, claimed a close examination of the…
The UK’s largest medical charity, the Wellcome Trust, has made its vast database of images freely available to all. The collection holds photos of hundreds of years worth of medicine, instruments and scientific…
It’s no secret that South Australian senator Cory Bernardi is a fan of what he calls “traditional family structures”. His views are back in the news this week with the release of his latest book, The Conservative…
Top contributors
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Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
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Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics, University of York
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Assistant Professor of Physics, Rutgers University - Newark
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Professeur émérite, chercheur en physique des particules, spécialiste des neutrinos, Université Paris Cité
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Visiting Researcher,, University of Oxford
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Visiting Lecturer of History, Georgia State University
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Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University
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Professor in High Medieval History, Durham University
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Associate Professor in Experimental Psychology (Perception), University of Oxford
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Timothy J. Jorgensen is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program and Professor of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown University
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Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology
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Professor in Philosophy of Science, Durham University
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Lecturer in South Asian History, University of Reading
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Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, University of Hull
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PhD Candidate in Mathematics, Rutgers University
