Constructing Space for Science at the Royal Institution of Great Britain

Those who have worked in the Royal Institution of Great Britain have, since its foundation in 1799, made significant contributions to scientific knowledge, to its practical application, and to its communication to a wide variety of audiences. Such work cannot be carried out in an architectural vacuum, and in this paper we examine how the buildings of the Royal Institution, 20 and 21 Albemarle Street in central London, have shaped the work undertaken within its walls and how, on a number of occasions, the buildings have been reconfigured to take account of the evolving needs of scientific research and communication. This paper is based on the Conservation Plan of the Royal Institution that we wrote during 2003. The Conservation Plan did not examine the land owned by the Royal Institution to the north (i.e., 22 and 23 Albemarle Street; for this area see Richard Garnier, “Grafton Street, Mayfair,” Georgian Group Journal 13 (2003), 210–272), but it did discuss 18 and 19 Albemarle Street. In this paper we concentrate on the core Royal Institution buildings at 20 and 21 Albemarle Street. Other studies of the relationship of architecture,space, and science include Crosbie Smith and Jon Agar, ed., Making Space for Science: Territorial Themes in the Shaping of Knowledge (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997); Peter Galison and Emily Thompson, ed., The Architecture of Science (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999); and Sophie Forgan,“The architecture of science and the idea of a university,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 20 (1989), 405–434. Frank A.J.L. James is Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution; he has written widely on the history of nineteenth-century science in its social and cultural contexts and is editor of the Correspondence of Michael Faraday. He is President of the British Society for the History of Science. Anthony Peers is an Associate of Rodney Melville and Partners where he works in the field of building conservation as an architectural historian. He is a Council member of the Ancient Monument Society.     

Are the Elements Elementary? Nineteenth-Century Chemical and Spectroscopical Answers

We analyze the role and influence of a tradition of research linked to the concept of primary matter in nineteenth-century studies on the nature of the elements.The suggestion of William Prout (1785-1850) in 1816 that the atomic weights of pure chemical elements are whole numbers and multiples of the atomic weight of hydrogen, taken as unity, was met with serious confutations,which in turn prompted several attempts to save Prouts hypothesis.We discuss these attempts in detail and the objections raised against them, for instance by Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907). We pay particular attention to the use of spectroscopy as a method for proving the existence of elementary forms of matter inside atoms. Leaders in this field of research were two English scientists, the astrophysicist Norman Lockyer (1836-1920) and the chemist William Crookes (1832- 1919). Both of their approaches involved the idea of primary matter. However, while Crookess approach proved to be incorrect, Lockyers ideas survived for several years and supported the discovery of the electron by J.J.Thomson (1856-1940).     

A Conversation with William A. Fowler – Part I

Nobel laureate William A. Fowler recalls his early education in physics; his part in the history of nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s; parallel efforts elsewhere, particularly at Berkeley and the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington,D.C.; his contacts with J. Robert Oppenheimer; and his work with Charles C. Lauritsen and Tommy Lauritsen before and after World War II.John Greenberg received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin and was Caltech research fellow in history from 1980–1984. The Editors were saddened to learn that he died while this interview was in press. Requests for reprints may be directed to Judith R. Goodstein, Institute Archives 015A-74, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA; e-mail: jrg@caltech.edu.     

Simultaneous determination of soluble manganese(III), manganese(II) and total manganese in natural (pore)waters

A new spectrophotometric protocol was developed for the simultaneous determination of soluble Mn(III), Mn(II) and total Mn [sum of soluble Mn(III) and Mn(II)] in sediment porewaters using a water soluble meso-substituted porphyrin [α,β,γ,δ-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (T(4-CP)P)]. A simple kinetic rate model is used to quantify soluble Mn(II), Mn(III) and total Mn concentrations during a metal substitution reaction. Under optimized conditions, the method accurately determines soluble Mn(II) and Mn(III) within a concentration range of 100 nM-10 μM. The detection limit of total soluble Mn is 50 nM. Using this method, soluble Mn(II) and Mn(III) concentrations were determined in standard solutions within 0.4-2% of the known values and agreed closely with results of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric and voltammetric analyses. The procedure was successfully applied to determine soluble Mn(II), Mn(III) and total Mn in sediment porewaters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. Mn(III) represented up to 85% of the total soluble Mn pool in surface sediments.     

一氧化碳的发现与燃素说的终结

考察一氧化碳的发现过程可知,这不仅是一种化学物质的发现史,也是燃素说的兴衰史。笃信燃素说的英国科学家普里斯特利首先在实验室制取并研究了它,称之为重可燃空气。相信氧化学说的英国化学家克鲁克香克用实验证明了它是一氧化碳,使当时的科学家大都皈依氧化学说,从而终结了燃素说。这段历史让人们认识到创新的理论思维对于科学研究的重要意义。     

Estimating whale density from their whistling activity: Example with St. Lawrence beluga

A passive acoustic method is developed to estimate whale density from their calling activity in a monitored area. The algorithm is applied to a loquacious species, the white whale (Delphinapterus leucas), in Saguenay fjord mouth near Tadoussac, Canada, which is severely affected by shipping noise. Beluga calls were recorded from cabled coastal hydrophones deployed in the basin while the animal density was estimated visually from systematic observations from a fixed-point on the shore. Beluga calling activity was estimated from an algorithm extracting the call events in time-frequency space, while simultaneously tracking the masking intensity resulting from local shipping noise. The activity index was summarized in 15- and 30-min bins using four different metrics. For bins containing more than 40% of valid data, the metrics were compared to the corresponding visual observations. The estimated mean acoustic detection range generally exceeded the fjord width, and extended to the whole ∼3-km long monitored area under low-noise conditions. The significant linear relations of the visual estimates with the calling activity metrics allowed assessing expected number of visually detected belugas in the basin from a weighted regression model, with a mean standard error of 7.1%.     

Behavior of laryngeal muscles of the late William Vennard

Behavior of the cricothyroid, lateral cricoarytenoid, vocalis, and interarytenoid muscles of William D. Vennard was electromyographically investigated. This article demonstrates electromyographic recordings that have not been published. Data presentation and discussion are focused on vocal registers, some phrases for voice training and warm-up, vowels, phonation modes, fundamental frequency control, the interarytenoid muscle, and some nonsinging behaviors     

Surface composition of Fe-Al2O3 granular thin films by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy

X-ray photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) results are presented which have given a direct insight into the surface composition of Fe-Al₂ O₃ “granular” thin films consisting of fine iron particles (φ ~ 40–150 Å) dispersed in an insulating alumina matrix. The data are mainly discussed in relation to: (i) the bulk iron content in the sample, (ii) the sample preparation procedure (e.g., by rotation of the sample target) and (iii) the mean iron particle size.At the surface, the iron is in a fully oxidized 3⁺ state within an alumina-rich partly hydrated region. Depth analysis, achieved by an Ar⁺ etching procedure, provides evidence of metallic iron and iron aluminate forms. In general, the metallic iron percentage increases with depth and with increasing iron bulk content.Good agreement is found between X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Mössbauer Spectroscopy data. Fe²⁺ aluminate forms, which indicate an interaction between the metal particle and the alumina matrix, show increasing percentages with decreasing mean particle sizes.Particular attention is paid to evaluating the accuracy of XPS quantitative results, obtained by use of a first-principles model, and to assessing the importance of the artefacts associated with the Ar⁺ etching procedure.     

Interaction with William Carnall

A personal account is given of interaction with William T. Carnall during the period 1977-1988, when I made regular visits to the Argonne National Laboratory to discuss the theoretical background to the spectroscopic work he was carrying out on the lanthanides and actinides.