Heidelberg 2022 – scientific programme

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GP: Fachverband Geschichte der Physik

GP 8: Physics and Instruments

GP 8.1: Talk

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 10:30–10:50, GP-H7

The Communication of Object-Bound Knowledge in Networks of Lead-Users — •Christian Forstner — Ernst-Haeckel-Haus, Friedrich_Schiller-University, Jena, Germany

Research technologies circulate between different fields of society and are continuously adapted to new contexts in a process of dis- and re-embedding. But how is the tacit knowledge that is tied to their practical use made explicit? Does it reveal itself to the user? What strategies were taken by the instrument makers to make tacit knowledge accessible to the user? In my talk I will discuss a historical example of communicating physical practices. Therefore I analyze the optical measurement instruments of the Carl Zeiss Company, in particular analytical interferometers, to show how a network of lead users was created and how practical knowledge circulated in this network.