Magnetic World: Consensus, Separation, and Re-connection in Disciplinary Transformations of Geomagnetism in the 20th Century

磁世界：20世纪地磁学学科变革中的共识、分离与重新连接

• 批准号: 0432202
• 负责人: Gregory Good
• 金额: $ 14.51万
• 依托单位: West Virginia University Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-10-15 至 2007-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0432202&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Magnetic; World; Consensus; Separation; Re

Geomagnetism, one of the earliest geophysical sciences to be widely practiced, saw its first successful developments in the 19th century. From 1830 to 1900, proliferation and professionalization of observational programs and data reduction characterized the field. After 1900, geomagnetic researchers increased their activity as they adopted theories by C. F. Gauss and J. C. Maxwell and developed means to bridge the gulf between these theories and masses of data of global phenomena. This project examines three main streams in 20th-century geomagnetic research: investigations of processes deep inside the Earth that produce the main geomagnetic field, examinations of crustal magnetism, and research into processes on the edge of space, where Earth's magnetic field interacts with the interplanetary environment. This investigation places these research streams in the historical context of disciplinary specialization and transformation. This process provides the historiographic interest of this study. Intellectual Merit: In the early 20th century, geomagnetic researchers thought of their domain as all of Earth's magnetic and electric phenomena. Researchers at private institutions, government bureaus, and universities variously developed mathematical tools and magnetic instruments based on new technologies, undertook magnetic field surveys or worked in magnetic observatories or physics laboratories, or traced out new physical theories. They investigated secular variation, rock magnetism, and upper atmospheric electrical currents. But by mid-century, most researchers narrowed their gaze to just one problem area. This specialization contributed to a period of dramatic developments in the latter half of the century: geodynamo theory, paleomagnetic evidence of plate tectonics, computer modeling of magnetic reversals, and discovery of the solar wind and polar (magnetic) substorms. This project, however, poses disciplinary specialization as a research question: To what extent did these research areas become independent of each other? Significant continuities in instrumentation, theory, and analytical methods persisted much longer than a simple model of specialization suggests. This project compares how scientists in each of these subfields conducted their research and how they defined their communities. Building on extensive archival research for earlier periods, this project focuses mainly on 20th-century geomagnetic researchers. Recent research is to be documented through publications, attending scientific conferences, and discussions with researchers to delineate the boundaries and interactions of research programs.Broader Impact: Outcomes include articles, but the final products are a book on the history of geomagnetic research from 1800 to 2000 and an educational web-site. This project may contribute to a re-evaluation of change in the traditionally recognized scientific disciplines, it may allow a more complex understanding of the inter-field scientific research that is becoming ever more common, and it may raise the possibility of providing historical contexts for policy development in such sciences. The project will also integrate teaching with research through the use of a research assistant. A web site will be developed to make the results available for other educational institutions.

地貌主义是最早的地球物理科学之一，它是广泛实践的，它在19世纪首次成功的发展。从1830年到1900年，观察计划和数据减少的扩散和专业化表征了该领域。 1900年后，地磁研究人员通过C. F. Gauss和J. C. Maxwell的理论提高了其活性，并开发了弥合这些理论和全球现象数据质量之间的鸿沟。该项目研究了20世纪的地磁研究中的三个主要流：对地球深处的过程的研究，这些过程产生了主要的地磁领域，地壳磁性的检查以及对空间边缘的过程的研究，地球磁场与空间间环境相互作用。 这项调查将这些研究流置于纪律专业和转型的历史背景下。这个过程提供了这项研究的史学兴趣。知识分子的优点：在20世纪初期，地磁研究人员将其领域视为地球所有磁性和电现象。私人机构，政府局和大学的研究人员根据新技术开发了数学工具和磁性工具，进行了磁场调查或从事磁性观测站或物理实验室工作，或者找到了新的物理理论。他们研究了世俗变化，岩石磁性和上层大气电流。但是到本世纪中叶，大多数研究人员将目光缩小到一个问题领域。在本世纪后半叶，这种专业化促成了一段戏剧性的发展：地球理论，板块构造的古磁证据，磁反转的计算机建模以及发现太阳风和极性（磁性）实体。但是，这个项目将纪律专业作为研究问题：这些研究领域在多大程度上彼此独立？ 仪器，理论和分析方法的重要连续性持续比简单的专业模型更长。该项目比较了每个子领域的科学家如何进行研究以及他们如何定义社区。 该项目以早期的广泛档案研究为基础，主要集中于20世纪的地磁研究人员。最近的研究将通过出版物进行记录，参加科学会议，并与研究人员进行讨论，以描绘研究计划的边界和互动。Broader的影响：结果包括文章，但最终产品是一本关于1800至2000年地磁研究历史的书籍，以及教育网站。该项目可能有助于对传统认可的科学学科的变化进行重新评估，它可以使人们对越来越普遍的现场科学研究有更复杂的了解，并且可能增加了为这种科学提供政策发展的历史环境的可能性。该项目还将通过使用研究助理将教学与研究整合。将开发一个网站，以使结果可用于其他教育机构。