Available online
Description
This programme deals with the ether in nineteenth century scientific thought, and in particular its significance in the work of Oliver Lodge and its connection with spiritualism. It also shows how... scientific discoveries can be made accidentally, and how the idea of the ether gains credibility through a consideration of action at a distance.
This programme deals with the ether in nineteenth century scientific thought, and in particular its significance in the work of Oliver Lodge and its connection with spiritualism. It also shows how... scientific discoveries can be made accidentally, and how the idea of the ether gains credibility through a consideration of action at a distance.
| Module code and title: | A381, Science and belief: from Darwin to Einstein |
|---|---|
| Item code: | A381; 02 |
| Recording date: | 24-04-1980 |
| First transmission date: | 28-02-1981 |
| Published: | 1981 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Peter Walton |
| Contributors: | Colin Russell; Gary Watson |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Queen Victoria; Spiritualism |
| Footage description: | Archive film of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee celebrations, followed by numerous prints depicting material advances of the Victorian era. Narrator Gary Watson describes these symbols of progress and asks what scientific theories lay behind the technological advances. In the studio Colin Russell considers the origin of scientific discoveries. Over still of William Perkin, Giessen's laboratory and the atomic structure of salt he uses specific cases to explain the Victorian belief in positivism. A still of Marcellin Berthelot is seen and an experiment of his recreated in which acetylene is produced by pushing a spark through hydrogen across carbon electrodes. Russell explains how Berthelot's research was directed by his philosophical beliefs. Russell uses atomic models to describe attacks made by some Victorian scientists on the philosophy of materialism. A model is used to show how Brownian motion helped the triumph of atomic theories. Russell lists the "extraneous factors" that made Victorian science by no means value-free. Russell uses a variety of experiments illuminating the properties of light, which are compared with those of sound. Shots of bright sunlight over a lake-filled landscape. He describes Victorian scientists' belief in the ether as a means of explaining the behaviour of light. With the help of graphic animations Russell explains how the discoveries of James Bradley provoked nineteenth century physicists to debate whether or not the ether was at rest. An experiment involving a prison and then an animation are used to explain the theory of "ether-drag". The work of G.G.Stokes on this subject is described by Watson over experiments involving the properties of a material that seems both plastic and brittle, and demonstrations of magnetism and electrostatics. The work of Heinrich Hertz and Michelson is described, along with their influence on the theory of ether. Russell describes the scientific beliefs of Oliver Lodge, particularly relating to the ether. He describes Lodge's adherence to his belief in the ether even after the negative results of his experiments. Lodge's belief in spiritualism is described over stills of mediums and seances. The programme ends with archive film of Queen Victoria's funeral, over which Russell comments on the nature of scientific beliefs. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/73196 |
| Production number: | FOUA016N |
| Videofinder number: | 1209 |
| Available to public: | no |
