Article ID: CBB000772412

Spheres of Influence: Illustration, Notation, and John Dalton's Conceptual Toolbox, 1803-1835 (2007)

unapi

In the early years of the nineteenth century, the English chemist John Dalton (1766-1844) developed his atomic theory, a set of theoretical commitments describing the nature of atoms and the rules guiding their interactions and combinations. In this paper, I examine a set of conceptual and illustrative tools used by Dalton in developing his theory as well as in presenting it to the public in printed form as well as in his many public lectures. These tools - the concept of 'atmosphere', the pile of shot analogy, and Dalton's system of chemical notation - served not just to guide Dalton's own thinking and to make his theories clear to his various audiences, but also to bind these theories together into a coherent system, presented in its definitive form in the three volumes of A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808, 1810, and 1827). Despite these links, Dalton's contemporaries tended to pick and choose which of his theories to accept; his system of notation failed to be adopted in part because it embodied the whole of his system indivisibly.

...More

Description “I examine a set of conceptual and illustrative tools used by Dalton in developing his [atomic] theory as well as in presenting it to the public in printed form as well as in his many public lectures.” (from the abstract)


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000772412/

Similar Citations

Article Pier Remigio Salvi; (2023)
Dalton's Long Journey from Meteorology to the Chemical Atomic Theory (/isis/citation/CBB368574264/)

Article Mark I. Grossman; (2021)
John Dalton’s “Aha” Moment: The Origin of the Chemical Atomic Theory (/isis/citation/CBB038145467/)

Book Benny Shilo; (2014)
Life's Blueprint: The Science and Art of Embryo Creation (/isis/citation/CBB088969067/)

Article Hackmann, Willem; (2007)
The Iconography of Early Electricity (/isis/citation/CBB000831665/)

Article Berkowitz, Carin; (2013)
Systems of Display: The Making of Anatomical Knowledge in Enlightenment Britain (/isis/citation/CBB001213504/)

Article Kelly Krause; (2016)
A Framework for Visual Communication at Nature (/isis/citation/CBB025509663/)

Chapter Lightman, Bernard; (2006)
Depicting Nature, Defining Roles: The Gender Politics of Victorian Illustration (/isis/citation/CBB000772477/)

Article Bonitàcio, Vitor; Malaquias, Isabel; Fernandes, Joǎo; (2008)
Ernesto Vasconcellos' Astronomia Photographica: The Earliest Popular Book on Astronomical Photography? (/isis/citation/CBB001034772/)

Book Kember, Joe; Plunkett, John; Sullivan, Jill A.; (2012)
Popular Exhibitions, Science and Showmanship, 1840--1910 (/isis/citation/CBB001250506/)

Essay Review Coppola, Al; (2011)
Science/Spectacle (/isis/citation/CBB001566424/)

Chapter Vollmer, S. H.; (2006)
Space in Molecular Representation; Or How Pictures Represent Objects (/isis/citation/CBB000600199/)

Article Dörries, Matthias; (2008)
The “Winter” Analogy Fallacy: From Superbombs to Supervolcanoes (/isis/citation/CBB000931789/)

Book Remmert, Volker R.; (2011)
Picturing the Scientific Revolution (/isis/citation/CBB001221404/)

Chapter Vermij, Rienk; (2011)
The Light of Nature and the Allegorisation of Science on Dutch Frontispieces around 1700 (/isis/citation/CBB001201619/)

Chapter Erich PAUER; (2020)
Vehicles of Knowledge: Japanese Technical Drawings in the Pre-modern Era, 1600–1868 (/isis/citation/CBB812379942/)

Book Michael Sappol; (2017)
Body Modern: Fritz Kahn, Scientific Illustration, and the Homuncular Subject (/isis/citation/CBB583589091/)

Article Norberto Serpente; (2016)
Justifying molecular images in cell biology textbooks: From constructions to primary data (/isis/citation/CBB216748135/)

Authors & Contributors
Shilo, Benny
Krause, Kelly
Pier Remigio Salvi
Vollmer, S. H.
Vermij, Rienk H.
Sullivan, Jill A.
Concepts
Visual representation; visual communication
Scientific illustration
Communication of scientific ideas
Chemistry
Popularization
Metaphors; analogies
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
21st century
20th century, late
17th century
Edo period (Japan, 1603-1868)
Places
Great Britain
United Kingdom
England
Netherlands
Portugal
Japan
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment