Inventing Temperature
by Hasok Chang · first published 2004
4mentions
2recommended by
4HN commenters
2021–2024first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
"What is temperature, and how can we measure it correctly? These may seem like simple questions, but the most renowned scientists struggled with them throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In Inventing Temperature, Chang examines how scientists first created thermometers; how they measured temperature beyond the reach of standard thermometers; and how they managed to assess the reliability and accuracy of these instruments without a circular reliance on the instruments themselves." "In a discussion that brings together the history of science with the philosophy of science, Chang p
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
You might be interested in the book Inventing Temperature by Hasok Chang which looks at similar questions but for temperature instead of time, both historically and philosophically. For example, you can define a temperature scale using the boiling point of water,…
on “For precision, the sapphire clock outshines even the best atomic clocks” ↗The book Inventing Temperature by Hasok Chang is a wonderful account of how hard it has been to grapple with temperature scientifically. My favorite anecdote is the scientist who carried arround and shook a bottle for two weeks to…
on “Localization Failure: Temperature Is Hard” ↗This etiological approach is captured, for example, in the book "Inventing Temperature" by philosopher of science Hasok Chang. It chronicles the meandering, dialectical and controversial journey scientists pursue in order to discover what exactly temperature is - now elegantly captured…
on “Proteins, Proteins Everywhere” ↗I came across this experiment in the book "Inventing Temperature" by Hasok Chang. Chang seems to present it as if it is a phenomenon that modern science can't explain (possibly I misunderstood him). But I think the explanation is basically that the cold object is…
on “Pictet's Experiment” ↗