The Matter Factory A History of the Chemistry Laboratory

(Hardback)

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Description

From white coats to Bunsen burners, the laboratory is a controlled space ofexperimentation, research and invention. But how have the desired functionsof the laboratory influenced the way it was constructed, laid out,equipped and operated And how have developments in chemical practiceor theory changed the laboratory and the way it is used The Matter Factoryoffers a novel approach to the history of chemistry, showing how the developmentof the laboratory also helped to shape modern scientific practice.

Reviews

'Peter Morris has written a fascinating and beautifully illustrated book that every chemist or science historian should read. Indeed, it should be a recommended text for those studying chemistry or the history of science ... Visionary and compelling, this is an authoritative book that I strongly encourage you to read.' - David Parker, FRS 'In recent years, much attention has been devoted to the protagonists of the history of chemistry, but the evolution of their workplace, the chemical laboratory, has remained until now almost completely unexplored territory. Peter Morris sets things right in this lively and well-documented history. The book is not only an intellectual but also a visual feast, packed as it is with an extraordinary number of striking illustrations - many of them new even to the specialist's eye.' - Alan J. Rocke, Distinguished University Professor, Case Western Reserve University, and author of Image and Reality: Kekule, Kopp, and the Scientific Imagination 'This lavishly illustrated portrait of the chemist's workplace provides a vividly written account of the evolution of the contemporary electronic-based laboratory from the workshops of early modern metallurgists, alchemists and pharmacists. Using key features such as furnaces, benches, cupboards, bottle racks and fume cupboards, as well as gas, electricity and water supplies, Morris shows how the changing character of chemical teaching and research influenced the building and fittings of laboratories in universities, industrial works and official government laboratories. Text and illustrations combine to make a fresh and exciting way of looking at the history of chemistry - the science that makes our world.' - W. H. Brock, University of Leicester "A revealing, illustrated tour of chemical laboratories, real ones, filled with real men and women, working especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and beyond to today. A fascinating history, as well as a highly enjoyable read."--Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, author of Prometheans in the Lab and The Theory That Would Not Die

Author Bio

Peter J. T. Morris is Keeper of Research Projects at the Science Museum, London and an Honorary Research Associate of the Science and Technology Studies Department, UCL. He edited Science for the Nation: Perspectives on the History of the Science Museum (2010).