Atmospheric Flight In The Twentieth Century (archimedes New Studies In The History And Philosophy Of Science And Technology Volume 3)

"This book brings together scholars from the history of technology, history of science, engineering, sociology, and philosophy in an effort to better understand aeronautical research and the full range of mechanisms by which flight technology has advanced in the twentieth century. The book will appeal to students of the humanities and social sciences as well as to researchers and practitioners of flight and aircraft design and engineering. Case studies range from detailed examinations of specific developments such as turbines and flight test equipment to investigations of patents policies and accident investigations. Most studies focus on United States experience, but there is some foreign coverage as well as international comparison. The book will appeal to scholars and college-level students in both the humanities and social sciences and in technical fields as well."--Jacket All technologies differ from one another. They are as varied as humanity's interaction with the physical world. Even people attempting to do the same thing produce multiple technologies. For example, John H. White discovered more than l 1000 patents in the 19th century for locomotive smokestacks. Yet all technologies are processes by which humans seek to control their physical environment and bend nature to their purposes. All technologies are alike. The tension between likeness and difference runs through this collection of papers. All focus on atmospheric flight, a twentieth-century phenomenon. But they approach the topic from different disciplinary perspectives. They ask disparate questions. And they work from distinct agendas. Collectively they help to explain what is different about aviation - how it differs from other technologies and how flight itself has varied from one time and place to another. The importance of this topic is manifest. Flight is one of the defining technologies of the twentieth century. Jay David Bolter argues in Turing's Man that certain technologies in certain ages have had the power not only to transform society but also to shape the way in which people understand their relationship with the physical world. "A defining technology," says Bolter, "resembles a magnifying glass, which collects and focuses seemingly disparate ideas in a culture into one bright, sometimes piercing ray." 2 Flight has done that for the twentieth century. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 An Accident of History....Pages 3-43 Aerospace in Adolescence: McCook Field and the Beginnings of Modern Flight Research....Pages 45-66 The Changing Nature of Flight and Ground Test Instrumentation and Data: 1940–1969....Pages 67-105 The Emergence of the Turbofan Engine....Pages 107-155 Engineering Experiment and Engineering Theory: The Aerodynamics of Wings at Supersonic Speeds, 1946–1948....Pages 157-180 Front Matter....Pages 181-181 Wooden Airplanes in World War II: National Comparisons and Symbolic Culture....Pages 183-205 American Aviation Technology: An International Heritage....Pages 207-222 The Wind Tunnel and the Emergence of Aeronautical Research in Britain....Pages 223-239 The Evolution of Aerodynamics in the Twentieth-Century: Engineering or Science?....Pages 241-256 Front Matter....Pages 257-257 Airframe Manufacture and Engineering Exchange....Pages 259-285 Blaming Wilbur and Orville: The Wright Patent Suits and the Growth of American Aeronautics....Pages 287-300 Who Designs Airports... Engineers, Architects, or City Planners? Aspects of American Airport Design Before World War II....Pages 301-322 Pools of Invention: The Role of Patents in the Development of American Aircraft, 1917–1997....Pages 323-345 Front Matter....Pages 347-347 Discussion Paper....Pages 349-360 Back Matter....Pages 361-383