ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Through Archival and Material Sources: New Perspectives in the History of Physics (19th–20th Centuries)

Session Submission Type: Organized Session

English Abstract

The history of physics, like that of many other scientific disciplines, is often told through the lives and works of a select group of prominent figures whose discoveries have become cornerstones of modern understanding. Yet within this conventional narrative lie not only neglected actors, but also lesser-known dimensions of well-studied scientists that have often remained in the background of historical accounts, despite their relevance for understanding how the discipline actually developed.
By revisiting primary sources, historians can offer new interpretations of well-established historical accounts, uncovering nuances, forgotten perspectives, and overlooked aspects of both familiar and less familiar figures. This panel, presented by early-career scholars of SISFA (the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy), explores how such an approach can transform our understanding of physics between the 19th and 20th centuries. By focusing on primary sources—including manuscripts, original instruments, and experimental materials—these papers investigate both well-known scientists and understudied contributions, demonstrating how archival and material research can yield new insights into the history of physics.
The four case studies form a methodological and conceptual progression. The first paper examines William Rowan Hamilton’s theory of quaternions, reconsidering its original meaning and showing how archival analysis can provide fresh insights into well-known domains of mathematical physics. The second paper sheds new light on Guido Horn d’Arturo, bridging archival documents and surviving instruments to highlight his pioneering segmented-mirror telescope and its lasting influence on modern astrophysical technologies. The third focuses on Bruno Rossi and the evolution of cosmic-ray techniques in the interwar period, emphasizing the material and collaborative dimensions of experimental physics, and demonstrating how instruments shaped both practice and knowledge. The final contribution explores Enrico Fermi’s experiments, illustrating how archival, experimental, and material evidence can be integrated and valorized through digital technologies, enabling museum-based reconstructions and fostering public engagement.
Together, these studies demonstrate that rethinking narratives from the primary sources themselves—manuscripts, documents, instruments, and experimental traces—rather than relying on later historiographical frameworks, can uncover neglected contributions and reassess the work of well-known figures. By moving from manuscripts to instruments, and ultimately to integrated technological reconstructions, this panel illustrates how shifting perspectives grounded in primary sources can renew both the methodology and storytelling of the history of physics, offering fresh insights into its methodological, technological, material, and social dimensions.

Sub Unit

• Organized Session

Chair

• Adele La Rana, Sapienza University of Rome

Individual Presentations

• A new perspective on Hamilton’s theory of quaternions - Alessandro Amabile, University of Naples Federico II

• Guido Horn d’Arturo and the Technological Roots of Modern Astrophysics - Elisabetta Rossi, University of Bologna and SISFA (Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy)

• Bruno Rossi and the chambers of secrets: evolution of cosmic-ray techniques in the interwar period - Luca Campagnoni, University of Padua

• Reshaping the Past: Enrico Fermi’s 1934 Experiments between History and Immersion - Domenica Verduci, Enrico Fermi Historical Museum of Physics and Centre for Study and Research and University of Bologna

Session Organizer

• Elisabetta Rossi, University of Bologna and SISFA (Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy)