Bacteria and laboratories

Bacteria and laboratories

—In the second half of the nineteenth century, the bacteriological laboratory was transformed into a new setting for diagnosing, preventing and treating infectious diseases.—   The verification that microscopic living things were the origin of...
Clinical revolution

Clinical revolution

—Injuries, functional disorders and the study of other causes of illness were at the centre of the medical revolution of the nineteenth century.—   Disease has always been present in human life. The way in which it has been understood, however, has...
The birth of the industry of precision

The birth of the industry of precision

—The material culture of science was substantially transformed in the nineteenth century, a process in which the new instrument production industry played a key role.—   The material culture of science, in particular scientific instruments, underwent...
Women of science in the nineteenth century

Women of science in the nineteenth century

—The new context of the nineteenth century created new barriers for women’s access to science. Despite this, their contributions continued to be very relevant in many areas.—   One of the texts in which William Whewell defended the new word...
Classification and discipline: The order of the elements

Classification and discipline: The order of the elements

—The periodic table, a product of the collective creativity of science classrooms in the nineteenth century.—   The periodic system is one of the most popular icons of contemporary chemistry. It is a classification of the elements that, through...
Science in the classroom

Science in the classroom

—A journey through the teaching of experimental science and the training of the elite.—   There is no scientific discipline that is valued without, at least, one founding father. Chemistry has two. The father of modern chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier,...
William Whewell and science as a liberal profession

William Whewell and science as a liberal profession

—Science emerged as a profession in the nineteenth century, at the same time as a structure of disciplines and specialties was took shape.—   William Whewell (1794-1866) developed a unique academic career in the first half of the nineteenth century....
The dreams of reason

The dreams of reason

—If a global map of the places of the Enlightenment were drawn up, the resulting image would be full of light and dark.—   At the end of the eighteenth century, many activities related to science had found spaces for their development, such as private...
Travelling experiments

Travelling experiments

—The explosion of air, the decomposition of water and the combustion of fire.—   In the years during which the outbreak of the French Revolution was brewing, explosions created in laboratories by experimenters in different European cities were about...
Enlightened lives

Enlightened lives

—Women and commoners in the democratisation of science.—   Between 1797 and 1803, the daily press occasionally published news about the scientific events organised in the Coliseo de los Caños del Peral in Madrid, the Coliseo de Comedias in Valencia or...