The Svedberg and the Boundary Between Science and Industry: Laboratory Practice, Policy, and Media Images
Titel:
The Svedberg and the Boundary Between Science and Industry: Laboratory Practice, Policy, and Media Images
Auteur:
Widmalm, Sven
Verschenen in:
History and technology
Paginering:
Jaargang 20 (2004) nr. 1 pagina's 1-27
Jaar:
2004-03
Inhoud:
This paper discusses The (Theodor) Svedberg as an exponent of an ideology of science that has come to be associated with post-war science policy: that fundamental research should be supported by government in order to stand free from demands of interest groups like industry—precisely because this is most beneficial for interest groups like industry. This ideology is interpreted in terms of boundary work and of inherent contradictions in scientific modernism. Examples are drawn from three areas. First, Svedberg's work on the ultra centrifuge is considered. It is argued its development reveals a close interdependence between science and engineering obscured in presentations where it was described as the sole intellectual property of the scientist. Second, Svedberg's role in policy is considered. He was a vocal proponent of the ideology of science mentioned above and with the creation of research councils for technology (1942) and natural science (1946) these views were incorporated into the foundation of policy. Third, Svedberg's media persona is analyzed. Newspapers and magazines portrayed him as the embodiment of ideals that chime with those expressed in contemporary policy. These are all seen as examples of misdirection, turning attention away from the deep embeddedness of science in networks of technology, creating the impression that technology is, in the last analysis, a product of the scientific intellect.
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