Ebook: Tools and Modes of Representation in the Laboratory Sciences

constitutive of reference in laboratory sciences as cultural sign systems and their manipulation and superposition, collectively shared classifications and associated conceptual frameworks,· and various fonns of collective action and social institutions. This raises the question of how much modes of representation, and specific types of sign systems mobilized to construct them, contribute to reference. Semioticians have argued that sign systems are not merely passive media for expressing preconceived ideas but actively contribute to meaning. Sign systems are culturally loaded with meaning stemming from previous practical applications and social traditions of applications. In new local contexts of application they not only transfer stabilized meaning but also can be used as active resources to add new significance and modify previous meaning. This view is supported by several analyses presented in this volume. Sign systems can be implemented like tools that are manipulated and superposed with other types of signs to forge new representations. The mode of representation, made possible by applying and manipulating specific types of representational tools, such as diagrammatic rather than mathematical representations, or Berzelian fonnulas rather than verbal language, contributes to meaning and forges fine-grained differentiations between scientists' concepts. Taken together, the essays contained in this volume give us a multifaceted picture of the broad variety of modes of representation in nineteenth-century and twentieth-century laboratory sciences, of the way scientists juxtaposed and integrated various representations, and of their pragmatic use as tools in scientific and industrial practice.

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This book provides novel insights into the practices of representing invisible objects in nineteenth-century and twentieth-century laboratory sciences. It tackles questions such as: How did scientific practitioners make sense of mathematical representations of theoretical entities, and did their understanding depend on transformations of mathematical sign systems into diagrams, graphs or other iconic modes of representation? Are modes of representation conceptually essential or merely decorative features of scientific discourse? Why did experimental scientists implement theoretically loaded sign systems, such as chemical formulas, in their practical activities, and what were the functions of such sign systems in experimental practice?
The essays contained in this volume carefully follow the way scientists constructed, juxtaposed and transformed representations of invisible objects of inquiry, and explore the pragmatic use of representations as tools in scientific and industrial practices. Historians and philosophers of science, but also experimental scientists interested in the epistemological, semiotic and historical issues of their discipline, will find theoretical propositions about representations as well as a multifaceted portrayal of scientists' constructions and applications of representations - be they the structural formula of a dye, the three-dimensional model of a protein, a table conveying relationships between chemical elements, a diagram depicting the functional relationships of the genetic apparatus, or a lengthy text dealing with the molecular level of objects.

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This book provides novel insights into the practices of representing invisible objects in nineteenth-century and twentieth-century laboratory sciences. It tackles questions such as: How did scientific practitioners make sense of mathematical representations of theoretical entities, and did their understanding depend on transformations of mathematical sign systems into diagrams, graphs or other iconic modes of representation? Are modes of representation conceptually essential or merely decorative features of scientific discourse? Why did experimental scientists implement theoretically loaded sign systems, such as chemical formulas, in their practical activities, and what were the functions of such sign systems in experimental practice?
The essays contained in this volume carefully follow the way scientists constructed, juxtaposed and transformed representations of invisible objects of inquiry, and explore the pragmatic use of representations as tools in scientific and industrial practices. Historians and philosophers of science, but also experimental scientists interested in the epistemological, semiotic and historical issues of their discipline, will find theoretical propositions about representations as well as a multifaceted portrayal of scientists' constructions and applications of representations - be they the structural formula of a dye, the three-dimensional model of a protein, a table conveying relationships between chemical elements, a diagram depicting the functional relationships of the genetic apparatus, or a lengthy text dealing with the molecular level of objects.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Chemical Atomism and the Evolution of Chemical Theory in the Nineteenth Century....Pages 1-11
The Creative Power of Paper Tools in Early Nineteenth-Century Chemistry....Pages 13-34
An Early History of Alexander Crum Brown’s Graphical Formulas....Pages 35-46
Conventionalities in Formula Writing....Pages 47-60
Paper Tools and Fictional Worlds: Prediction, Synthesis and Auxiliary Hypotheses in Chemistry....Pages 61-78
Aspects of Paper Tools in the Industrial-Academic Context: Constitutions and Structures of Aniline Dyes, 1860–1880....Pages 79-94
Molecular Models and the Articulation of Structural Constraints in Chemistry....Pages 95-115
Paper Tools and Molecular Architecture in the Chemistry of Linus Pauling....Pages 117-132
Graphic Representations of the Periodic System of Chemical Elements....Pages 133-161
The Periodic Table: The Ultimate Paper Tool in Chemistry....Pages 163-177
A Principle Written in Diagrams: The Aufbau Principle for Molecules and Its Visual Representations, 1927–1932....Pages 179-198
Fedoroff’s Translation of Mcclintock: The Uses of Chemistry in the Reorganization of Genetics....Pages 199-219
Mathematics, Representation and Molecular Structure....Pages 221-236
Affinity, Additivity and the Reification of the Bond....Pages 237-251
Back Matter....Pages 253-264

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This book provides novel insights into the practices of representing invisible objects in nineteenth-century and twentieth-century laboratory sciences. It tackles questions such as: How did scientific practitioners make sense of mathematical representations of theoretical entities, and did their understanding depend on transformations of mathematical sign systems into diagrams, graphs or other iconic modes of representation? Are modes of representation conceptually essential or merely decorative features of scientific discourse? Why did experimental scientists implement theoretically loaded sign systems, such as chemical formulas, in their practical activities, and what were the functions of such sign systems in experimental practice?
The essays contained in this volume carefully follow the way scientists constructed, juxtaposed and transformed representations of invisible objects of inquiry, and explore the pragmatic use of representations as tools in scientific and industrial practices. Historians and philosophers of science, but also experimental scientists interested in the epistemological, semiotic and historical issues of their discipline, will find theoretical propositions about representations as well as a multifaceted portrayal of scientists' constructions and applications of representations - be they the structural formula of a dye, the three-dimensional model of a protein, a table conveying relationships between chemical elements, a diagram depicting the functional relationships of the genetic apparatus, or a lengthy text dealing with the molecular level of objects.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Chemical Atomism and the Evolution of Chemical Theory in the Nineteenth Century....Pages 1-11
The Creative Power of Paper Tools in Early Nineteenth-Century Chemistry....Pages 13-34
An Early History of Alexander Crum Brown’s Graphical Formulas....Pages 35-46
Conventionalities in Formula Writing....Pages 47-60
Paper Tools and Fictional Worlds: Prediction, Synthesis and Auxiliary Hypotheses in Chemistry....Pages 61-78
Aspects of Paper Tools in the Industrial-Academic Context: Constitutions and Structures of Aniline Dyes, 1860–1880....Pages 79-94
Molecular Models and the Articulation of Structural Constraints in Chemistry....Pages 95-115
Paper Tools and Molecular Architecture in the Chemistry of Linus Pauling....Pages 117-132
Graphic Representations of the Periodic System of Chemical Elements....Pages 133-161
The Periodic Table: The Ultimate Paper Tool in Chemistry....Pages 163-177
A Principle Written in Diagrams: The Aufbau Principle for Molecules and Its Visual Representations, 1927–1932....Pages 179-198
Fedoroff’s Translation of Mcclintock: The Uses of Chemistry in the Reorganization of Genetics....Pages 199-219
Mathematics, Representation and Molecular Structure....Pages 221-236
Affinity, Additivity and the Reification of the Bond....Pages 237-251
Back Matter....Pages 253-264
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