Interactions of Interwar Physics: Technology, Instruments, and Other Sciences

After World War I quantum theory and nuclear physics dominate the history of physics, while World War II is often seen as the watershed moment when physics achieved new levels of social and technical engagement at truly industrial scales. The workshop aims to shift this narrative to various interwar sites of industrial interaction between physical research and technical instrumentation. It looks at domains of engagement between physics and electrical engineering, hydro-dynamics, and chemistry. By pursuing these technical questions it also shows how industry, state agencies, and foundations were already playing a constitutive role in physics research during the interwar period.

Official participants may access papers at this page.