Magnetic World: Consensus, Separation, and Re-connection in Disciplinary Transformations of Geomagnetism in the 20th Century

West Virginia University Research Corporation, Morgantown WV

Investigators

Abstract

Geomagnetism, one of the earliest geophysical sciences to be widely practiced, saw its first successful developments in the 19th century. From 1830 to 1900, proliferation and professionalization of observational programs and data reduction characterized the field. After 1900, geomagnetic researchers increased their activity as they adopted theories by C. F. Gauss and J. C. Maxwell and developed means to bridge the gulf between these theories and masses of data of global phenomena. This project examines three main streams in 20th-century geomagnetic research: investigations of processes deep inside the Earth that produce the main geomagnetic field, examinations of crustal magnetism, and research into processes on the edge of space, where Earth's magnetic field interacts with the interplanetary environment. This investigation places these research streams in the historical context of disciplinary specialization and transformation. This process provides the historiographic interest of this study. Intellectual Merit: In the early 20th century, geomagnetic researchers thought of their domain as all of Earth's magnetic and electric phenomena. Researchers at private institutions, government bureaus, and universities variously developed mathematical tools and magnetic instruments based on new technologies, undertook magnetic field surveys or worked in magnetic observatories or physics laboratories, or traced out new physical theories. They investigated secular variation, rock magnetism, and upper atmospheric electrical currents. But by mid-century, most researchers narrowed their gaze to just one problem area. This specialization contributed to a period of dramatic developments in the latter half of the century: geodynamo theory, paleomagnetic evidence of plate tectonics, computer modeling of magnetic reversals, and discovery of the solar wind and polar (magnetic) substorms. This project, however, poses disciplinary specialization as a research question: To what extent did these research areas become independent of each other? Significant continuities in instrumentation, theory, and analytical methods persisted much longer than a simple model of specialization suggests. This project compares how scientists in each of these subfields conducted their research and how they defined their communities. Building on extensive archival research for earlier periods, this project focuses mainly on 20th-century geomagnetic researchers. Recent research is to be documented through publications, attending scientific conferences, and discussions with researchers to delineate the boundaries and interactions of research programs. Broader Impact: Outcomes include articles, but the final products are a book on the history of geomagnetic research from 1800 to 2000 and an educational web-site. This project may contribute to a re-evaluation of change in the traditionally recognized scientific disciplines, it may allow a more complex understanding of the inter-field scientific research that is becoming ever more common, and it may raise the possibility of providing historical contexts for policy development in such sciences. The project will also integrate teaching with research through the use of a research assistant. A web site will be developed to make the results available for other educational institutions.