Instrumental in war : science, research, and instruments between knowledge and the world / edited by Steven A. Walton.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Walton, Steven A.

Series:

History of warfare ; v. 28.

History of warfare, 1385-7827 ; v. 28

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military research--History.

Military research.

Military art and science--Technological innovations.

Military art and science.

Scientific apparatus and instruments--History.

Scientific apparatus and instruments.

Military art and science--Instruments.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (440 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Brill, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Scientific research and instrumentation are crucial for military action today but they have not always been so. This collection investigates 500 years of the relationship between warfare, research, and instruments - both physical and intellectual - to understand this interaction. With U.S., English and French examples, contributors provide examples from army and naval history to show how governments and individuals made warfare scientific, developing instruments, stations, and organizations that furthered the cause. Some developments directly aided war efforts; others were parts of 'normal science' in peacetime; and others were relatively ineffective in directly bringing about military change. These developmental histories shed light on the origins of modern scientific warfare. Contributors: Steven A. Walton; William A. Lynch; Jamel Ostwald; Seymour H. Mauskopf ; James R. Fleming; Gerard P. Scharfenberger; William M. McBride; David Alan Grier; Sebastien Soubiran; Kenton Kroker; Deborah J. Warner; Peter Galison.

Contents:

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Volume Contributions

List of Contributors

Introduction, Steven A. Walton

Chapter One, Mathematical Instruments and the Creation of the Military Gentleman, Steven A. Walton

Chapter Two, Surveying and the Cromwellian Reconquest of Ireland, William A. Lynch

Chapter Three, Like Clockwork? Clausewitzian Friction and the Scientific Siege in the Age of Vauban, Jamel Ostwald

Chapter Four, Calorimeters and Crushers: The Development of Instruments for Measuring the Behavior of Military Powder, Seymour H. Mauskopf

Chapter Five, Telegraphing the Weather: Military Meteorology, Strategy, and 'Homeland Security' on the American Frontier in the 1870s, James R. Fleming

Chapter Six, Remnants of Testing at the Sandy Hook Proving Grounds, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Gerard P. Scharfenberger

Chapter Seven, From Measuring Progress to Technological Innovation: The Prewar Annapolis Engineering Experiment Station, William M. McBride

Chapter Eight, Dr. Veblen at Aberdeen: Mathematics, Military Applications and Mass Production, David Alan Grier

Chapter Nine, National Naval Laboratories and the Development of Fire Control Gyrocompasses in Interwar Britain and France, Sebastien Soubiran

Chapter Ten, Washouts: Electroencephalography, epilepsy & emotions in the selection of American aviators during the Second World War, Kenton Kroker

Chapter Eleven, A Matter of Gravity: Military Support for Gravimetry during the Cold War, Deborah J. Warner

Chapter Twelve, Physics Between War and Peace, Peter Galison

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-280-86767-1

9786610867677

1-4294-5277-3

90-474-0703-2

1-4337-0683-0

OCLC:

171561980

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789047407034 DOI