Title Science and Spectacle : the Work of Jodrell Bank in Postwar British Culture

Published Hoboken : Taylor and Francis, 2014

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Description 1 online resource (283 pages) Series Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine Routledge studies in the history of science, technology, and medicine. Contents Cover; Science and Spectacle; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List of Tables; List of Illustrations; Preface and Introduction; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1 Science in Post-war Britain; The Context of British Science; The Government Funding of Science; World War II and British Science; War Research; The Promotion of Scientific Advisors in Government; The Retention of War-time Organisation; Research in Post-War Britain; Increased Expenditure on Research; The Expansion of Education; Novel Post-War Sites for Science; A Novel Popular Audience for Science? Histories of Radio AstronomyNarratives and Sources; The Early History of Radio Astronomy; Two Historiographies of Radio Astronomy; Organizing Work and Discovery at Jodrell Bank; Jodrell Bank Research Programmes; Research Work; Summary; Chapter 2 Funding the Spectacle of Science; A 218 Foot Paraboloid; A Large Steerable Dish; Finding an Engineer; The Scientific Grants Committee of the DSIR; Peer Support: The Royal Astronomical Society; The SGC Again; The Significances of an Expensive Instrument; The University as a Site for Science Instrumental Malleability: Financial Problems, the Nuffield Foundation and the Ministry of SupplyThe Radio Telescope and the Financial Competence of Universities; Sputnik; The Radio Telescope Appeal; Doubts Remain; Discussion: The Contested Boundary between Government and Universities; Summary; Chapter 3 'A Great Public Spectacle': Prestige, Position and Power at Jodrell Bank; Publicity and the Management of Visitors; Photographs and the 'Grip of Publicity'; On Location: The Inquisitive Giant'; Managing the Press; The 'Problem' of Visitors Renewed Demonstrating the Telescope, Communicating with SatellitesSputnik Historiography; Sputnik in Britain; The Position of the Engineer; A Clear Message ... : Authority and the Reith Lectures; ... and Interference: Public Actions and the Odd Letters; Discussion: Position; Chapter 4 Clearing the Air (Waves): Interference and Frequency Allocation for Radio Astronomy; The National and International Regulation of Radio; The Metaphor of Space -- the Spectrum Reified; Radio Frequencies and the New Radio Astronomy; Stage One: Outsiders Seeking the Allocation of Frequencies; A New Ally: The Royal Society Territorial Expansion, Occupation of the Spectrum and a Suggested SalientThe Outsiders Come In; Stage Two: Insiders; Interlude: Cambridge, Jodrell Bank and the Gee Chain; Stage Three: The International Allocation of Frequencies; Conclusion; Chapter 5 Clearing the Ground: Bodily Control, the Radio Telescope and the Environment; Internal Discipline; The First Conflicts Over Local Development; The Electrification of the Railways and Grid Lines; Local Development Again; The Codification is Challenged: Appeals Against the Zones; The Legal 'Safeguarding of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescopes' Summary Science and Spectacle relates the construction of the telescope to the politics and culture of post-war Britain. From radar and atomic weapons, to the Festival of Britain and, later, Harold Wilson's rhetoric of scientific revolution, science formed a cultural resource from which post-war careers and a national identity could be built. The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope was once a symbol of British science and a much needed prestigious project for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, but it also raised questions regarding the proper role of universities as sites for scie Notes Conclusion Print version record Subject Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, Jodrell Bank -- History SUBJECT Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, Jodrell Bank fast Subject Radio astronomy -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Science -- Social aspects -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Popular culture -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Popular culture Radio astronomy Science -- Social aspects Great Britain Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9781317743033 1317743032

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