Helge Kragh The Names of Science (Paperback)
$ 44.63
Description
Further Details Title: The Names of Science Condition: New Description: The history of science is echoed in the development of its language and the names chosen for its technical terms. The Names of Science examines in detail how, over time, new words have entered the scientific lexicon and how some of them, but far from all, have survived to the present. Why is a transistor called a transistor and not something else? Why was the term 'scientist' only coined in 1834, and why was the name regarded as controversial for a long time afterwards?There is a story behind every scientific word we use today. In this work, Helge Kragh tells many of these stories, taking a broad historical perspective from the Renaissance to the present. By combining elements of linguistics with the history of the natural sciences including physics, chemistry, and astronomy, this book offers a new and innovative perspective on the historical development of the natural sciences.Following an introductory list of useful linguistic terms, the book is structured in six chapters, which cover important phases in the history of science, dealing with a vast range of scientific terminology from physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, to cosmology. It also considers, if only briefly, how English - and not, say, Latin or French - developed to become the internationally accepted language of science.Contrary to other works dealing with the subject, The Names of Science pays serious attention to the historical dimension of scientific language, and to the way in which scientists have, sometimes unconsciously, acted as linguists and neologists in their research work. Author: Helge Kragh EAN: 9780198917441 Format: Paperback Country/Region of Manufacture: GB Subtitle: Terminology and Language in the History of the Natural Sciences ISBN-10: 0198917449 ISBN: 9780198917441 Publisher: Oxford University Press Language: English Item Height: 17mm Item Length: 157mm Item Width: 234mm Item Weight: 592g Genre: Language & Reference Release Date: 07/04/2024 Topic: Science Nature & Math Release Year: 2024 Missing Information? Please contact us if any details are missing and where possible we will add the information to our listing.
