Courtney Stephen
*Department of History and Philosophy of Science,University of Cambridge,Free School Lane,Cambridge,CB2 3RH,UK. Email:
Br J Hist Sci. 2017 Jun;50(2):249-265. doi: 10.1017/S0007087417000292. Epub 2017 Apr 24.
In the midsummer of 1872 a lighthouse apparatus was installed in the Clock Tower of the House of Commons. The installation served the practical function of communicating at a distance when the House was sitting, but also provided a highly visible symbolic indication of the importance of lighthouse technology to national concerns. Further, the installation served as an experimental space in which rival technological designs, with corresponding visions for the lighthouse system, could compete in public. This article considers nineteenth-century lighthouse technology as a case study in the power and political significance of display. Manufacturers of lighthouse lenses, such as the firm of Chance Brothers, sought to manage interpretations of the lights through the framing of exhibitions and demonstrations; so too did scientific authorities, including Michael Faraday and John Tyndall, both of whom served in the role of scientific adviser to Trinity House, the body responsible for lighthouse management. Particularly notable in this process was the significance of urban, metropolitan display environments in shaping the development of the marine lighthouse system around the nation's periphery.
1872年盛夏，一套灯塔设备安装在了下议院的钟楼里。该装置在议会开会期间起到了远程通信的实际作用，同时也显著象征着灯塔技术对国家事务的重要性。此外，该装置还作为一个试验空间，让有着不同灯塔系统设想的竞争性技术设计能够在此公开竞争。本文将19世纪的灯塔技术作为一个案例研究，探讨展示的力量和政治意义。灯塔透镜制造商，如钱斯兄弟公司，试图通过展览和演示的框架来引导人们对灯光的解读；科学权威人士，包括迈克尔·法拉第和约翰·丁达尔，也同样如此，他们二人都曾担任三一屋的科学顾问，三一屋是负责灯塔管理的机构。在这一过程中，城市、大都市的展示环境对塑造国家周边海洋灯塔系统的发展具有重要意义，这一点尤为显著。
