Making Sense of Experiments

This lecture delves into the historical significance of Newton's Experimentum Crucis, which revealed that white light is a mixture of differently refrangible rays. It explores the philosophical and historiographical stakes of experiments, the reactions to Newton's findings, and the challenges of experimental replication. The instructor discusses the complexities of experimental setups, the evolving meanings of experiments, and the interpretive nature of primary sources. The lecture also examines the gestural knowledge and embodied practices in early Victorian England, focusing on the replication of James Prescott Joule's experiment on the mechanical equivalent of heat. It highlights the importance of historical replication in understanding experimental practices, gestures, and cultural shifts.