Physics as a cultural heritage
A
travelling exhibition
Contact persons: Sonja Draxler and Max E. Lippitsch
The stations: Topics that should be covered by the exhibition
The exhibition consists of a number of stations. Every station deals with a certain topic in a given historic period and cultural area. The display of physics objects is accompanied by appropriate historical, social, musical and arts presentations.
1.
Ancient cosmology
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe, from the early beginnings to Ptolemy (1st
century A.D.)
Ancient astronomical instrumentation. Models of observatories.
Cuneiform, hieroglyphic and Greek documents. Objects from ancient cultures.
2.
The discovery of time
Ancient methods of time measurement in Egypt, Greece and Rome from the early
beginnings to Vitruvius (1st century A.D.)
Sun dials: The Gnomon, Egyptian shadow clocks, portable sundials.
Water clocks: The clock of Amenemhet, Greek clepsydras, the water clock of
Ctesibius.
Greek and Latin texts on time and time keeping.
Objects from ancient cultures.
3.
Number, proportions and the harmony of spheres
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreens, Greek and Italy c. 500 B.C.
The acoustic experiments of Pythagoras. Platon’s perfect bodies.
Greek and Latin texts on acoustics, music, and numbers.
Objects, art, and music from ancient Greece.
4.
Far Eastern Heritage
Early Physics in Korea, China and
Japan
5.
The world view of the Mesoamericans
Maya, Toltecs and Aztec cosmology, astronomy, and time keeping.
Mesoamerica 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.
6. Ancient Indian physics
7.
The Islamic contribution to medieval physics
Islamic countries from central Asia to Spain, 8th to 15th
century A.D.
8.
Traditional African physics
Physics concepts in Africa south of the Sahara.
9.
The enigma of the rainbow
Medieval optics in Europe, 11th to 15th century A.D.
Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, Witelo, Theoderic of Freiberg, Nicolaus Cusanus.
Viking lenses, Bacon’s glass pearls, Theoderic’s flasks, early
spectacles.
Latin texts on optics and vision.
Objects, art, and music from the Middle Ages.
10.
Of loadstone and amber
Electricity and magnetism from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, Europe, 6rd century
B.C. to 17th century A.D.
Ancient prelude: Thales, Theophrast, Lucretius.
Middle Ages and Early Modern Times: Alexander Neckham, Pierre de Maricourt,
Girolamo Cardano, William Gilbert, Niccolo Carbeo.
Medieval compass, amber adornment.
Latin texts on magnetism and electricity.
Objects, art, and music from the Middle Ages.
11.
Of sailors and scientists
Physics behind the age of discoveries. Europe, 15th and 16th
century A.D.
Instruments for navigation.
Objects, art, and music from late Middle Ages and the freshly discovered countries.
12.
The scientific revolution of the renaissance
Europe 16th to 18th century A.D.
Copernicus, Kepler, Galilei, Huygens, Descartes, Newton.
Objects, art, and music of the Renaissance.
13.
From frog`s legs to power plants
Development of Electricity, Europe and U.S.A., 17th to 19th
century A.D.
Otto von Guericke, Charles Dufay, Pieter van Musschenbroek, Alessandro Volta,
Benjamin Franklin, Auguste Coulomb, Hans Christian Orsted, Michael Faraday,
James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hert, Nikola Tesla.
Electrostatic experiments from the 18th century, high voltage machines.
Objects, art, and music from the Baroque to Romanticism.
14.
Merging space and time
The Theory of Relativity. Europe and U.S.A. 1905-1920.
The Michelson-Morley-Experiment. Einstein documents,
Objects, art, and music from the early 20th century.
15.
Of particles, waves, and entangled states
The creation of Quantum Theory, Europe and U.S.A. 1900-1950.
Planck, Einstein, Bohr, De Broglie, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Pauli, Dirac,
Feynman.
Quantum teleportation.
Objects and experiments to make quantum concepts understandable.
Objects, art, and music from the early 20th century.
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