History of Electrical Technology: The State of the ArtAuthor(s): Bernard S. FinnSource: Isis, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 31-35Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/231132 .

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History of Electrical

Technology: The State of

the Art

By Bernard S. Finn*

I N THE FIELD OF ELECTRICITY the philosopher's tools have been necessary not only for measurement and application, but even for production

of the basic phenomena, to make evident the electrical stuff itself. This helps to account, of course, for the late emergence of electricity as a field of study. It also helps to explain why the early investigators were uncertain until well into the nineteenth century about how many electricities had been discovered and whether they were in truth the same. Thus the different forms were defined in terms of their methods of production: frictional, galvanic (physiologi- cal), voltaic (chemical), electromagnetic, thermoelectric. A similar problem in definition occurred in the twentieth century as electronic engineers separated themselves from electrical ones.

All of this, it seems to me, makes the study of the electrician's devices of special interest to historians-the more so if one can say something about the influence they may have had on theoretical developments. Unfortunately, the number of works devoted to this subject has been small, though there is evidence that the situation is improving.

For the eighteenth century our sources have been confined to Bern Dibner's monograph on electrical machines, plus odds and ends that can be gleaned from some catalogues of early instrument groupings.' A recent important addition is the study of the Teyler's Museum collection by Turner and Levere.2 These works are essentially descriptive in nature. But the number of interpreta- tional works is likewise small: at the moment I can think only of Willem Hackmann's studies of British-Dutch interaction, the experimental investigations of Hans Prinz, and (just to show I have a personal interest in the area) my

Invited paper. *Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560. 'Bern Dibner, Early Electrical Machines (Norwalk: Burndy Library, 1957). I. Bernard Cohen,

Some Early Tools of American Science (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1950). Robert P. Multhauf, A Catalogue of Instruments and Models in the Possession of the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1961).

2 Gerard Turner and T. H. Levere, Van Marum's Scientific Instruments in Teyler's Museum (Martinus van Marum: Life and Work, Vol. IV) (Leyden: Noordhoff, 1974).

31

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32 BERNARD S. FINN

own short note on electrostatic machines.3 The history of electrical technology in the early nineteenth century is virtually

unrecorded. Some insights can be gained from more general works like L. Pearce Williams' biography of Faraday, balanced on the other side of the Atlantic by commentary in the first volume of the Joseph Henry Papers, edited by Nathan Reingold.4 And there is Robert Chipman's study of the first galvanometer.5 This displays pretty small interest in perhaps the most exciting period in the history of electricity.

For the period after 1850, when electrical technology became commercial on a big scale, the best general histories remain those written by economic historians, including R. L. Thompson on the telegraph, W. R. Maclaurin on radio, H. C. Passer on the electric power industry, and A. A. Bright on electric lighting.6 Less successful, though often containing significant insights, have been attempts by engineers to treat the history of their own discipline. Examples are Percy Dunsheath and P. W. Kingsford on electrical engineering and E. A. Marland on communications.7

More valuable are the monographs encouraged by Charles Susskind and published by the San Francisco Press. Included in this series are reminiscences and commentary by L. L. Marton, B. F. Meissner, and Rudolph Kompfner.8 Such accounts must, of course, be treated with a certain amount of caution,

'Willem Hackmann, "The Design of the Triboelectric Generators of Martinus van Marum, F.R.S. A Case History of the Interaction between England and Holland in the Field of Instrument Design in the Eighteenth Century," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 1971, 26:163-181; "The Researches of Dr. Martinus van Marum (1750-1837) on the Influence of Electricity on Animals and Plants," Medical History, 1972, 11-26; "Electrical Researches," Ch. 15 in Martinus van Marum: Life and Work, Vol. III (Leyden: Noordhoff, 1973), pp. 329-378; John and Jonathan Cuthbertson: The Invention and Development of the Eighteenth Century Plate Electrical Machine (Leyden: Communication No. 142 from the Reijksmuseum voor de Geschiednis der Natuurwetenschappen). Hans Prinz, "L'e1ectricite emmagasinee-Sa fascination et ses secousses," Schweizerischer elektrotech- nischer Verein Bulletin, 1971, 62:97-109; "Les merveilleuses et etonnantes experiences avec 17'tincelle 6lectrique," ibid., 1972, 63:1-13. Bernard S. Finn, "Output of Eighteenth-Century Electrostatic Machines," British Journal for the History of Science, 1971, 5:289-291.

4L. Pearce Williams, Michael Faraday (London: Chapman and Hall; New York: Basic Books, 1965). Nathan Reingold, ed., The Papers of Joseph Henry, Vol. I (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972).

5Robert A. Chipman, "The Earliest Electromagnetic Instruments," Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 38, United States National Museum Bulletin 240 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1964), pp. 121-136.

6Robert L. Thompson, Wiring a Continent. The History of the Telegraph Industry in the United States (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947). W. Rupert Maclaurin, Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry (New York: Macmillan, 1949). Harold C. Passer, The Electrical Manufacturers 1875-1900. A Study in Competition, Entrepreneurship, Technical Change, and Economic Growth (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1953). Arthur A. Bright, The Electric Lamp Industry: Technological Change and Economic Development from 1800 to 1947 (New York: Macmillan, 1949).

7Percy Dunsheath, A History of Electrical Engineering (London: Faber and Faber, 1962). P. W. Kingsford, Electrical Engineering: A History of the Men and the Ideas (London: Edward Arnold; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1970). Edward A. Marland, Early Electrical Communication (New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1964).

8[Ldislaus L. Marton, Early History of the Electron Microscope (San Francisco: San Francisco Press, 1968). Benjamin F. Meissner, On the Early History of Radio Cuidance (San Francisco: San Francisco Press, 1964). Rudolph Kompfner, The Invention of the Traveling-Wave Tube (San Francisco: San Francisco Press, 1964).

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HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY 33

but they make interesting reading on specialized subjects and contain information that is often unavailable elsewhere.

Another form of reminiscence is the corporate history. As a genre this type of publication has many problems. Sponsorship often comes from the company itself, with implied if not explicit limitations on what can be said, and perhaps limitations on access to materials. But the results nevertheless can be useful. Recent successful examples are W. J. Baker on Marconi, G. Siemens on Siemens, and L. S. Howeth on the U.S. Navy.9 A broader, cross-sectional view is taken by Frederick White in his study of research laboratories.'0 There is a lot of excellent material in these volumes; but, as can be imagined, the insights provided into specific technical innovations are few.

In recent years there have also appeared a number of very competent biographies of electrical people: Lessing on Armstrong, Bruce on Bell, Josephson on Edison, von Weiher on Siemens." The tendency in almost all cases, however, is to skirt the critical technological questions, presumably in the interest of readability-thus leaving the intelligent reader with major unanswered questions about why the subject of the book deserved his great reputation. Hughes' biography of Sperry comes closest among these biographies to being an integrated presentation of the whole man-admittedly a very difficult task.'2

Finally, there are the shorter, defined articles which perhaps give a better idea of the concentrated attention that can be brought to bear on a subject. W. J. King's group of three monographs can be considered under this category, especially in the sense that they focus on apparatus in the early electrical technologies.'3 James Brittain has done an especially good analysis in his study of the loading coil.'4 Among a small number of articles of this type are those by H. Pieper and D. Hounshell.'5

A great deal more has been written, of course, and I apologize for any important items I may have inadvertently left out. However, this is not an

9W. J. Baker, A History of the Marconi Company (London: Methuen, 1970). Georg Siemens, Der Weg der Elektrotechnik, Geschichte des Hanses Siemens (2nd ed., Munich/Freiburg: Alber, 1961; English translation of 1st ed., Alber, 1957). Linwood S. Howeth, History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1963).

'0Frederick A. White, American Industrial Research Laboratories (Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1961).

"I Lawrence P. Lessing, Man of High Fidelity: Edwin Howard Armstrong (New York: Lippincott, 1956). Robert Bruce, Bell: Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude (Boston: Little, Brown, 1973). Matthew Josephson, Edison (New York: MfcGraw Hill, 1959). Sigfrid von Weiher, Werner von Siemens. Ein Leben fiir Wissenschaft, Technik und Wirtschaft. (Personlichkeit und Geschichte, 56.) (Gottingen/Zurich/Frankfurt: Musterschmidt, 1970).

'2Thomas P. Hughes, Elmer Sperry: Inventor and Engineer (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1971).

13W. James King, "The Development of Electrical Technology in the 19th Century," Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 228 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1962), pp. 233-407.

'4James Brittain, "The Introduction of the Loading Coil: George A. Campbell and Michael I. Pupin," Technology and Culture, 1970, 11:36-57.

"Hans Pieper, "Werner von Siemens und die electrotechnische Fachliteratur 1872," Technikges- chichte, 1967, 34:323-349; "Carl August Steinheil, der vergessene Bergrunderder wissenschaftlichen Nachrichtentechnik," Technikgeschichte, 1970, 37:323-352. David A. Hounshell, "Elisha Gray and the Telephone. The Disadvantages of Being an Expert," Technology and Culture, 1975, 16:133-161.

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34 BERNARD S. FINN

attempt to present a bibliography of the history of electricity (a fairly compre- hensive one, incidentally, has recently been produced by George Shiers"6). The intent, rather, is to give some feeling for where we stand. And where we stand is still fairly near the beginning, but moving forward.

The basic problem is that the details in the recent past are very complex, difficult to understand, and even more difficult to explain in acceptable prose. This is not a situation unique to electricity, of course; it is shared by virtually all scientific and technical disciplines. It is perhaps more apparent in electricity because of the lack of distinguished ancestors in the medieval and early modern periods. The solution to the problem lies not in an emphasis on internal or external history, but rather on good history. Good history of either type needs to be based on a firm understanding of what happened, combined with a talent for making plausible and readable explanations, whether on a narrow or a broad plane. This means there is still a lot of room for electrical historians, and there will be for some time to come. I would like to take this opportunity to suggest a few things they might look for.

In the early period I would like to see a closer analysis of instrumentation-how it developed, why, and what the capabilities were-and how it affected theoretical developments. It would also be useful to have a better feeling for what electricians of the eighteenth century actually saw and how these observations related to their interpretations. A careful look at medical applications of electricity in this period might prove to be more than an amusing pastime. This was, after all, the only practical use to which the new science was being put.

In the early nineteenth century I believe there is something to be learned from a closer study of the origins of telegraphy in several countries. The later involvement of William Thomson in instrument design is clearly a fascinating subject.

For the past hundred years or so, it is hard to know where to begin to suggest topics. The challenge is to treat the details without losing sight of the broader principles; or, alternatively, to treat the broader movements without being superficial. There is room for work almost every place one choses to look. I would like to see more attention paid to the relationship between instrumentation and the development of the various fields.

There is in fact activity in several quarters, and in due course much of it should emerge. Let me cite a few examples. Willem Hackmann at Oxford has completed a dissertation which is based on surviving electrical artifacts in Britain from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Two other recent British dissertations concern developments toward mid-century: one by Brian Bowers at the Science Museum, treating aspects of Wheatstone's electrical work; the other by Keith Dawson at Imperial College, on early telegraph instruments. And Saroj Ghose, at the Birla Museum in Calcutta, has written a dissertation for Jadapur University on the early and peculiar development of the telegraph in India.

Moving forward, my own study of submarine telegraphy is surviving a lengthy

16George Shiers, Bibliography of the History of Electronics (Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1972).

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HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY 35

gestation period but should burst forth in another year or two; naturally I have high hopes for it. Perhaps a better place to put your money would be on James Brittain (at Georgia Tech) who is writing a biographical study of Alexanderson. He is also assembling a collection of articles on a variety of electro-technical topics to appear in a bicentennial issue of Spectrum. Meanwhile, Gerald Tyne has completely rewritten his detailed study of the history of the vacuum tube (published in parts in Radio News many years ago); this should also be published in 1976. Thomas Hughes at Pennsylvania is writing a comparative study of electrical power systems in the United States, England, and Germany; Mort Fagan at the Bell Labs is assembling a detailed technical history of the company; Hugh Aitken at Amherst has completed a history of tuned circuits in early wireless; and Richard Schallenberg at VPI recently finished a dissertation for Yale on the history of the electric battery. Thus we have some indication that an attack is being made on a reasonably broad front and that we can look forward to some interesting reading during the next few years.

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