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Verification and Variation: Patterns of Experimentation in Investigations of Galvanism in Germany, 1790–1800

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Maria Trumpler
Maria Trumpler*
Affiliation:
Yale University
*
†Section of the History of Medicine, Yale University, PO Box 208015, New Haven, CT 06520–8015.
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Abstract

Based on the historical case of galvanic experimentation in Germany, I identify five types of experimentation which explored and shaped the new phenomenon rather than tested theoretical predictions. Verification evaluated initial reports of Galvani's phenomenon. Simplification reduced the experimental protocol to the fewest and most basic steps. Optimization found experimental conditions that magnified the observed effect. Exploration tested a wide variety of metals, animals or configurations. Application modified the experiment to address unresolved related problems. Attempts to derive laws of the phenomenon or establish its underlying causes were unsuccessful primarily due to the great variability of the experimental results.

Type
Symposium: Patterns in the Interrelation of Experiment, Instrumentation, and Theory
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 64 , Issue S4: Supplement. Proceedings of the 1996 Biennial Meetings of the Philosophy of Science Association. Part II: Symposia Papers Dec., 1997 , 1997 , pp. S75 - S84
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1997

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