Article ID: CBB827565583

Atoms in the campus: Van de Graaff accelerators and the making of two major Latin American universities in 1950s Brazil and Mexico (2021)

unapi

This paper deals with two cases of acquisition and construction of Van de Graaff accelerators in 1950s Latin America, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of São Paulo, respectively. A comparative approach allows us to appreciate the significance of this particular technology within scientific, cultural, commercial, and political processes. Van de Graaff accelerators appeared as an affordable technology to engage in experimental nuclear physics and to be part of the atomic age. The circumstances that motivated physics communities in Brazil and Mexico to choose this specific technology took shape in close interactions with US institutions and scientists. These inter-American alliances involved precisely the main companies and groups that competed for the market of this technology around the world. These accelerators also intertwined with the building of campuses for two major Latin American universities, occupying then a singular place (physically and symbolically) within their execution. This paper engages with comparison for the common goal of going beyond frameworks and methodologies tied to the nation, while integrating the study of connections and interactions, as well as the interplay of multiple scales.

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Authors & Contributors
Wade, Peter
Santos, Ricardo Ventura
Lourenço, Marta C.
López-Beltrán, Carlos
Granato, Marcus
Rubén Arnoldo González
Concepts
Technology and society
Scientific apparatus and instruments
Museums
Science and technology, relationships
Genomics
Identity
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, late
19th century
21st century
18th century
Places
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
Latin America
Chile
Colombia
Institutions
Atoms for Peace 1983 Washington, DC
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Observatorio Astronómico Nacional
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