Theory and practice
Chapter 6 Soil-mechanics. The poor condition of the soil, especially in the west of the Netherlands, was an ever-recurring problem in construction. Attempts to solve this problem scientifically dated from the eighteenth century. Determining the horizontal soil pressure and defining the carrying-capacity of piles were significant difficulties; this chapter describes the engineers' responses. Pile formulas were generally known, but were also known to be unreliable. Engineers applied them regularly, but, in case of doubt, followed their own judgements. Despite the limited success of field applications of formulas technical school teachers continued to emphasize theory. This was especially notable in the second part of the nineteenth century.
Chapter 7 The rail-bridges. The bridges over the large rivers were considered to be one of the technical highlights of the nineteenth century by engineers and many others. Although the first railway had already been opened in 1839, it was not until 1860 that the construction of a network of railways was started. Construction of the railways by the state in the Netherlands coincided with the introduction of the truss-bridge. Previous bad experiences with latticebridges forced the engineers to take a radically different approach. The starting point of the truss-bridge was that the division of forces was relatively easy to analyse and to calculate. Soon simple and clear graphical methods were developed for these calculations.
Chapter 8 Steam technology. The main problem for companies was to obtain the required technological knowledge. In this chapter we will first show which knowledge is meant and afterwards we will focus on its diffusion. Finally we will try to reconstruct how companies acquired and applied this know-how. Neither thermodynamics nor engineering theories such as those of Pambour led to a revolution in steam technology. Rather, these theories enlarged engineers' insight into the working of the engine and into the possibilities to improve it. Science delivered powerful new heuristics, but its contribution to the evolution of steam technology after 1850 was limited.
Chapter 9 The compound engine. An interesting development occurred during the application of steam technology in ships. At the Nederlandse Stoomboot Maatschappij in Rotterdam the Dutch marine-officer Roentgen built a steam engine with several cylinders into a ship approximately in 1830. This compound engine would become the dominant type of ship engine in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Opinions differ about what was the merit of Roentgen's engine exactly. It is a fact that Roentgen's engine reached its final shape after years of experimenting and that he received a lot of support from his English engineers. It is remarkable that, through the purchase of English engine the compound engines was reintroduced in Holland.
Chapter 10 Chemical knowledge and the chemical industry. In this chapter we deal with the meaning of chemical knowledge for industry, distinguishing between general knowledge of chemistry, chemical analysis, and the designing of chemical factories. Already early in the nineteenth century at the level of industrial managers it was common knowledge that chemistry was useful, even indispensable. Because of the lack of an independent tradition in the field of industrial analysis the application of these new technologies mainly took place through the influence of the teachers at the universities and technical schools. Through the institutionalisation of the educational laboratory from 1840 onwards the profession of chemist had experienced a profound transformation. Where the designing of complete factories is concerned the Netherlands remained dependent on foreign ‘consulting chemists’.
Chapter 11 Adrianople Red. A branch in which chemical processes played a significant role was the cotton printing-shop and dye-works. On the basis of Adrianople Red dying we will show which changes took place in this field. Adrianople Red dying was a very specific long-lasting process which went through many revisions. Because of its complexity, little was known about the progress of the process or the chemical or physical reactions that took place.
Chapter 12 Technology, profession and practice. The process of forming a national government was the main aspect in the process of professionalisation. The increasing role that the national state had in society created the need for suitably educated civil servants. Other aspects of the professionalisation story were the international orientation, the influence of political events and the relatively stable class-society. The way in which science influenced technology showed many differences between disciplines and even between fields. Almost always the application of science demanded that gaps in scientific knowledge be filled, that scientific concepts be adapted to the concrete technical situation or that the limitations inherent in technology be taken into account. The current idea that science had become the main source of knowledge for technology dates from the early nineteenth century and was materialized in the curricula of schools for higher educated technicians. The fulfilment of the promises, though, would still take a long time.
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