Discover
/
Article

The Industrialization of American Astronomy, 1880–1940

JAN 01, 1996
Big science took root in America long before World War II, as machines, money, personnel and leadership made astronomy the biggest of the sciences in the age of little science.
John Lankford
Ricky L. Slavings

The rise of big science is often linked to World War II and the cold war. However, such an interpretation ignores the historical roots of big science in the six decades preceding the war. Here we discuss one aspect of the development of big science in America: the industrialization of astronomy and astronomy’s emergence as the biggest of the sciences in an age of little science.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. J. H. Capshew, K. A. Rader, “Big Science: Price to the Present,” in Science After ’40, A. Thackray, ed., Osiris (second series) 7, 3 (1992).

  2. 2. D. H. DeVorkin, “Community and Spectral Classification in Astrophysics: The Acceptance of E. C. Pickering’s System in 1910,” Isis 72, 29 (1981).https://doi.org/ISISA4

  3. 3. L. Galambos, “Technology, Political Economy, and Professionalization: Central Themes of the Organizational Synthesis,” Business History Review 57, 471 (1983).

  4. 4. P. Galison, B. Hevly, eds., Big Science: The Growth of Large‐Scale Research, Stanford U.P., Stanford, Calif. (1992).

  5. 5. R. L. Geiger, To Advance Knowledge: The Growth of American Research Universities, 1900–1940, Oxford U.P., New York (1986).

  6. 6. R. E. Kohler, Partners in Science: Foundations and Natural Scientists, 1900–1945, U. Chicago P., Chicago (1991).

  7. 7. J. Lankford, “The Impact of Photography on Astronomy,” in The General History of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Twentieth‐Century Astronomy to 1950, O. Gingerich, ed., Cambridge U.P., Cambridge, UK (1984), vol. 4A, p. 16.

  8. 8. J. Lankford, R. L. Slavings, “Gender and Science: Women in American Astronomy, 1859–1940,” PHYSICS TODAY, March 1990, p. 58.

  9. 9. H. Wright, Explorer of the Universe: A Biography of George Ellery Hale, Button, New York (1966).

More about the authors

John Lankford, Kansas University, Manhattan, Kansas.

Ricky L. Slavings, University of Chicago, Press.

Related content
/
Article
The ability to communicate a key message clearly and concisely to a nonspecialized audience is a critical skill to develop at all educational levels.
/
Article
With strong magnetic fields and intense lasers or pulsed electric currents, physicists can reconstruct the conditions inside astrophysical objects and create nuclear-fusion reactors.
/
Article
A crude device for quantification shows how diverse aspects of distantly related organisms reflect the interplay of the same underlying physical factors.
/
Article
Events held around the world have recognized the past, present, and future of quantum science and technology.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1996_01.jpeg

Volume 49, Number 1

Get PT in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.