Archimedes 39 New Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Erwin Hiebert The Helmholtz Legacy in Physiological Acoustics The Helmholtz Legacy in Physiological Acoustics Archimedes NEW STUDIES IN THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VOLUME39 EDITOR JEDZ.BUCHWALD,DreyfussProfessorofHistory,CaliforniaInstitute ofTechnology,Pasadena,CA,USA. ASSOCIATEEDITORSFORMATHEMATICSANDPHYSICALSCIENCES JEREMYGRAY,TheFacultyofMathematicsandComputing, TheOpenUniversity,Buckinghamshire,UK. TILMANSAUER,CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology ASSOCIATEEDITORSFORBIOLOGICALSCIENCES SHARONKINGSLAND,DepartmentofHistoryofScienceandTechnology, JohnsHopkinsUniversity,Baltimore,MD,USA. MANFREDLAUBICHLER,ArizonaStateUniversity ADVISORYBOARDFORMATHEMATICS,PHYSICALSCIENCESANDTECHNOLOGY HENKBOS,UniversityofUtrecht MORDECHAIFEINGOLD,CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology ALLAND.FRANKLIN,UniversityofColoradoatBoulder KOSTASGAVROGLU,NationalTechnicalUniversityofAthens PAULHOYNINGEN-HUENE,LeibnizUniversityinHannover TREVORLEVERE,UniversityofToronto JESPERLU¨TZEN,CopenhagenUniversity WILLIAMNEWMAN,IndianaUniversity,Bloomington LAWRENCEPRINCIPE,TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity JU¨RGENRENN,Max-Planck-Institutfu¨rWissenschaftsgeschichte ALEXROLAND,DukeUniversity ALANSHAPIRO,UniversityofMinnesota NOELSWERDLOW,CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology,USA ADVISORYBOARDFORBIOLOGY MICHAELDIETRICH,DartmouthCollege,USA MICHELMORANGE,CentreCavaille`s,EcoleNormaleSupe´rieure,Paris HANS-JO¨RGRHEINBERGER,MaxPlanckInstitutefortheHistoryofScience,Berlin NANCYSIRAISI,HunterCollegeoftheCityUniversityofNewYork Archimedeshasthreefundamentalgoals;tofurthertheintegrationofthehistoriesofscienceandtechnology withoneanother:toinvestigatethetechnical,socialandpracticalhistoriesofspecificdevelopmentsinscience andtechnology;andfinally,wherepossibleanddesirable,tobringthehistoriesofscienceandtechnologyinto closercontactwiththephilosophyofscience.Totheseends,eachvolumewillhaveitsownthemeandtitle andwillbeplannedbyoneormoremembersoftheAdvisoryBoardinconsultationwiththeeditor.Although thevolumeshavespecificthemes,theseriesitselfwillnotbelimitedtooneoreventoafewparticularareas. Its subjects include any of the sciences, ranging from biology through physics, all aspects of technology, broadlyconstrued,aswellashistorically-engagedphilosophyofscienceortechnology.Takenasawhole, Archimedeswillbeofinteresttohistorians,philosophers,andscientists,aswellastothoseinbusinessand industrywhoseektounderstandhowscienceandindustryhavecometobesostronglylinked. For furthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/5644 Erwin Hiebert (Deceased) 1919–2012 The Helmholtz Legacy in Physiological Acoustics ErwinHiebert(Deceased) ISSN1385-0180 ISSN2215-0064(electronic) ISBN978-3-319-06601-1 ISBN978-3-319-06602-8(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-06602-8 SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014941950 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerpts inconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysisormaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurposeofbeing enteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.Duplication ofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheCopyrightLawofthe Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter. ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with respecttothematerialcontainedherein. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) Envoi InJuly2012,IspentashorttimewithErwinathishomeinBelmont.Hisson,Tom, wastheretohelp,sinceErwin’sbelovedwife,Elfrieda,wasinhospitalandpassed away2monthslater.Wehadfirstmetinthefallof1971whenIenteredHarvardas a graduate student in the history of science. Throughout the nearly half century since then Erwinand Elfrieda remained,andwill remain inthe memoriesoftheir studentsandfriends,paragonsoffriendship,warmth,intellectualengagement,and, mostofall,decency,truemorality,andconcern. Erwinworriedaboutthislastproductofhisscholarship,forheknewthattheend of life was fast approaching. Having seen the work as it evolved over the years, Iknewittobethefruitsofdecadesofthoughtandresearch,stimulatedandassisted by the insights of Elfrieda, and so we told him that it would be published in the series“Archimedes.” ErwinandElfriedaweretheverybestofpeopleandtheverybestofacademics. Thereare,andcertainlywillalwaysbe,fewlikethem.Theywillbesorelymissed bytheirchildren,family,friends,colleagues,andstudents. CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology JedBuchwald Pasadena,CA,USA v Eloge Erwin Hiebert died on November 28, 2012, less than 3 months after his wife Elfrieda died, on September 2. For the dozens of graduate students, colleagues, andfriendswhotastedtheintellectual excitementofdiscussionsinthewarmthof theirhome,thesedeathsmarkthepassingofanage.Formorethanthreedecades, as a Professor of the History of Science first at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,thenatHarvard,Erwinpassionatelyengagedhisstudentsandcolleagues in explorations that ranged from nuclear physics to experimental physiology, thermodynamicstoCantoriansettheory,quantummechanicstocomets.Acoustics wasalwaysafavoritesubject,andthebesteveningswerethosethatElfriedaclosed byplayingonherbelovedpiano. Erwin was the third of seven children of a Mennonite Bretheren minister, who raised his children in an urban Russian Mennonite community in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In later years, he loved to point to his early education, first in Faraday Grade School and then in Sir Isaac Newton High School, as indicators of his subsequent career as a Historian of Science. However, that career was far in the future for a young man who spent his summers following the wheat harvest from OklahomatotheDakotastopayforhispostsecondaryeducationatTaborCollege inHillsboro,Kansas.After2years,hetransferredtoBethelCollege,wherein1941 heearnedabachelor’sdegreeinMathematicsandChemistry.In1943hereceiveda master’s degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Alsoin1943,ErwinmarriedElfrieda,ne´eFranz.Elfriedawasalreadyahighly accomplishedpianist,whoin1938hadreceivedthehighestawardintheNational Music Competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado; when the two met, she was studying music at Tabor College. Immediately after their marriage, the young couplemovedtoChicago, wherein1945Elfriedaearned abachelor’s degree and in 1946 a master’s degree in Music from the University of Chicago. Erwin was enlistedasaResearchChemistatStandardOilCompanyofIndianainthoseyears, andElfriedawasAssistantMusicLibrarianfortheUniversityofChicago. Erwin’s work with Standard Oil was under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Metallurgical Labs of the Manhattan Project; “within months of the Japanese vii viii Eloge surrenderinAugust1945”heandotherscientistswerecomingtogether“todiscuss the political and social responsibility of the scientist, civilian control of atomic energy, the economics of atomic power, the freedom of scientific information, relations with the Soviet Union, etc.”1 From 1947 to 1948, Erwin carried these concernstoWashington,whereheservedasAssistanttotheChiefoftheScientific Branch,WarDepartmentGeneralStaffinWashington,DC,andElfriedaworkedas CopyrightCataloguerattheLibraryofCongress.Theirfirstchild,CatherineAnne, wasborntherein1948. Soon thereafter, the Hieberts returned to Chicago, where Erwin worked as a ResearchChemistattheInstitutefortheStudyofMetalswhilepursuinghisM.Sc. in Physical Chemistry at the University of Chicago. There the Hieberts reveled in the company of “an international constellation of scientists, mathematicians, composers,philosophers,Allewissers,humanistically-mindedforeignvisitingpro- fessors,andloquaciouspoliticalemigres,”whohadfound“haven”intheuniversity there.2MostmemorableamongthesewasAlexandreKoyre´,whocaptivatedErwin “with his French charm, the boundless depths of his learning, and the scientific, historiographic, and philosophical expertise with which he approached and executedthehistoryofscience.”3 Fortified by this “exposure to large doses of cultural history sandwiched in between expansive schemes for world government and global internationalism,”4 in1950theHiebertsmovedtoMadison,whereErwinbeganworkingtowardajoint Ph.D.degreeintheHistoryofScienceandPhysicalChemistry.Erwin’sdecisionto studytheHistoryofScience“hadagreatdealtodowithreflectionsaboutthewar, the events leading up to it, its outcome, and prospects for the future,”5 and his interestslayinthedevelopment ofmodern science,butthe strongestinfluence on himattheUniversityofWisconsinwasthemedievalist,MarshallClagett.AsErwin workedwithClagett,hebegantosee“thatbasictechniquesandmethodsforstudy of the medieval period were not as far removed from the study of more recent periodsasonemighthaveassumed.”Clagettmovedhimbeyonda“myopicvision” of science, to “an appreciation for the immense differences that have served to identify so-called ‘science’ and views on ‘nature’ in disparate times and places: alternative time-bound customs for formulating and resolving seminal questions; theestablishmentofacceptablecriteriafor presentinglogicallyunassailable argu- ments;andthedegree ofimportancegivenatdifferenttimesinhistorytotherole ofexperimentalverificationandtheoreticalreasoning.”6 1Erwin N Hiebert, (1993) “On Demarcations between science in context and the context of science”inKostasGavroglu,JeanChristianidis,EfthymiosNicolaidiseds.TrendsintheHisto- riographyofScience,(BostonStudiesinthePhilosophyofScience,v.151)pp.87–106on87–88. 2Ibid.99. 3Ibid.102. 4Ibid.100. 5Ibid.87. 6Ibid.96–97. Eloge ix The year 1954 was a banner year for the Hieberts: Erwin got his Ph.D.; their second daughter, Margaret Helen, was born; and the whole family moved to Go¨ttingen.InGo¨ttingen,ErwinwasFulbrightLecturerattheMaxPlanckInstitute forPhysicsandElfriedatookupaFulbrightScholarshiptostudymusicologyatthe UniversityofGo¨ttingen.Theirthirdchild,ThomasNels,arrivedin1955. Erwin’s career as an academic Historian of Science began immediately after thisGermanyear,whenheservedasanInstructorintheHarvardHistoryofScience Departmentfrom1955to1957.In1957,hejoinedtheHistoryofScienceDepart- ment at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1957 as Assistant Professor,in1960asAssociateProfessor,andin1963asProfessor.Hejoinedthe HarvardHistoryofScienceDepartmentin1970. Erwin brought all of himself – his Mennonite convictions, his scientific expertise, and his wartime ruminations – to the study of the History of Science. For him, science constituted “one of the few common languages of all mankind. Itisalanguagewhichcanprovideamostimportantbasisforthecommunicationof ideas between people of different political and ideological convictions. In their work,scientiststheworldoverplacethehighestpremiumonintellectualhonesty, personal integrity, hard work, tenacity, concentration, imagination, insight and curiosity.” These values were always paramount for both Erwin and Elfrieda. If people “everywhere would throw themselves wholeheartedly into the building of a world community without regard to national interests, their actions would go a long way toward the creation of a world free from war,”7 Erwin declared. Fordecades,heandElfriedathrewthemselveswholeheartedlyintotheworkofthe SocialConcernsCommitteeoftheMennoniteCongregationofBoston. Within the History of Science, Erwin pursued his internationalist vision as a memberofanumberoforganizationsincludingtheBritishSocietyfortheHistory of Science and the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science. HewasanelectedFellowoftheAcade´mieInternationald’HistoiredesSciences,an OverseasFellow of ChurchillCollege, Cambridge,an Honorability Sodalis of the CzechoslovakSocietyfortheHistoryofScienceandTechnology,andAuswa¨rtiges MitgliedfortheSa¨chsicheAdademiederWissenschaftzuLeipzig.Inaddition,he servedfor8yearsasVicePresident,5yearsasPresident,andanadditional3years asexofficiomemberoftheCounciloftheDivisionoftheHistoryofScienceofthe International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science of the International CouncilofScientificUnions(ICSU). Erwin developed warm relations with a large constellation of international scholars through the performance of these duties, as well as the many visiting appointmentsheacceptedovertheyears.Oneoftheresiduesofgrowingupinan e´migre´communitywasajoyfuleasewithCentralandEastEuropeanlanguagesthat supportedErwin’swarmrelationswithpeoplefromthoseregions.Alwayssensitive 7Erwin N. Hiebert, (1961) The Impact of Atomic Energy (Faith and Life Press: Newton, Kansas,)p.291.