The Transformations of Scientific Fields: Physics, Chemistry 1900-1945

1
The Transformations of Scientific Fields
Physics, Chemistry1900-1945
Yves Gingras Canada Research Chair History and
Sociology of Science CIRST-UQAM
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Distinctions between fields by journal title
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Papers and References in Selected Source journals
(1900-1944)
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Growth in number of researchers
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Growth in the number of papers
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Authors productivity
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Collaborative research
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Proportion of papers by country (journal
publisher)
Note other counties include Sweden, the
Netherlands, the USSR and Switzerland
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Interdisciplinarity(defined by the journals
where scientists publish)
Top 10 interdisciplinary authors (1900-1945)
Maths-Phys Chem-Maths Chem-Phys
Bateman, H Loewy, A Harkins, WD
Weyl, H Schmidt, E Trautz, M
Schur, I Saurel, P Langmuir, I
Synge, JL Fischer, E Tammann, G
Bieberbach, L Meyer, E Hahn, O
Hopf, E Schmidt, H Eyring, H
Meyer, E Salkowski, E Tolman, RC
Klein, F Young, RC Huggins, ML
Larmor, J Muller, M Pauli, W
Polya, G Schmidt, R Mark, H
Chemistry 54,000 authors
Chemistry/Maths 130
Maths 2700 authors
Chemistry/Physics 2700
Physics 17,000 authors
All 3 disciplines 20
Maths/Physics 280
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Country of origin of cited publication
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Citations in chemistry journals
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Citations in Physics Journals
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Citations in Mathematics Journals
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Impact of disciplines on one another
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Citation statistics by country (1900-1944)
Cited
Chemistry Germany Other France UK USA
Germany 72.83 5.69 5.70 7.14 8.64
Other 36.21 35.57 5.79 10.28 12.15
France 39.43 6.96 37.94 7.38 8.29
UK 27.95 4.91 5.25 36.80 25.09
USA 25.03 6.31 5.35 13.79 49.52
Total 51.27 7.54 5.93 11.76 23.50
Citing
Cited
Physics Germany Other France UK USA
Germany 70.96 4.55 4.87 10.75 8.87
Other 32.04 29.47 3.34 16.44 18.71
France 32.70 5.61 39.02 13.14 9.54
UK 24.25 4.82 4.68 41.04 25.20
USA 21.72 4.81 3.61 16.24 53.62
Total 39.88 5.31 5.78 17.53 31.50
Citing
Cited
Maths Germany Other France UK USA
Germany 63.49 14.90 9.19 5.83 6.59
Other 31.70 28.30 23.43 7.70 8.88
UK 13.04 7.76 5.50 65.03 8.67
USA 21.32 10.55 7.03 12.52 48.57
Total 36.99 12.71 8.53 22.21 19.57
Citing
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Citation statistics by discipline (1900-1944)
Bio / Med Chemistry General Engineering Maths Physics
Chemistry 9.00 74.94 9.11 0.98 0.02 5.95
Maths 1.58 0.13 21.67 0.41 70.35 5.87
Physics 1.78 12.50 21.41 3.22 0.57 60.51
Total 6.87 56.20 12.74 1.56 2.13 20.49
Cited
Citing
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Gauging the country of publication of cited
articles
of articles produced by country UK USA Germany Other ()
Chemistry 6.36 31.51 55.24 6.89
Mathematics 14.17 30.57 49.43 5.83
Physics 18.88 41.49 32.89 6.74
() France is included in this category, since
the database poorly reflects the French journals
in Chemistry and Physics
Based on a semi-random sample of 300 physicists
and 500 chemists from each country() , we can
get an alternative idea of how the cited articles
are distributed
of articles cited by scientists in Chemistry Physics
France 11.15 12.08
Germany 38.70 30.67
Other 6.70 5.83
UK 19.95 25.83
USA 23.50 25.58
() There is insufficient data for the case of
mathematicians
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Co-citation network of physicists, 1900-1904
(More than 8 co-citations).
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Physics (1905-1911)

• Co-citation network of top 50 most cited authors
• Note two groups which emerge

Node sizes reflect number of citations, visible
ties for 11 co-citations or more
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Multi-dimensional scaling and agglomerative
clustering
Electron theory
Ionization, atom

• MDS provides a map based on the distances
  dissimilarities between citation patterns of
  the authors (top 50 most cited authors in
  physics, 1905-1911)
• AHC then allows us to identify cluster of
  similar authors
• In this case, it identifies two primary, distinct
  clusters, which are the same as those identified
  using the networks

Group 2
spectroscopy
Chemical physics
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Word frequency in titles of citing papers

• Group2 Ionization of gases, atomic model,
  emission spectra (Thomson, Stark, Wien,
  Riecke, Lenard, Warburg, Kayser)

Group 1 Special relativity and the photoelectric
effect (Einstein, Abraham, Lorentz, Drude, Planck)
Word Frequency
Radiation 34
Light 28
Relativity 24
Electrical 22
waves 20
metals 18
Dispersion 17
Magnetic 17
Heat 17
Electric 15
energy 15
Electromagnetic 14
Electron 13
Absorption 13
metal 13
method 12
moving 12
spectrum 12
Word Frequency
Light 55
rays 36
Radiation 35
Electrical 33
Discharge 28
Absorption 28
gases 27
Spectra 27
spectrum 23
lines 22
Cathode 22
Spectral 21
Emission 19
canal 19
Electricity 17
influence 17
Magnetic 17
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Co-citation network of physicists, 1912-1918
(More than 10 co-citations).
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Co-citation network of physicists, 1925-1930
(More than 16 co-citations)
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Co-citation network of physicists, 1937-1944
(More than 21 co-citations)
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Centrality Rankings 5-years periods
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Co-citation network of authors in Mathematics
Journals (1900-1911)
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Why We Cannot Predict Nobel Prizes...
Yves Gingras and Matthew Wallace CIRST-UQAM
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Nobel prize winners and nominees
Number of physics nominees (1901-44) 813 Number
of physics winners (1901-44) 47
Number of chemistry nominees (1901-44)
756 Number of chemistry winners (1901-44) 43
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Evolving profile of prize winners
(n43)
(n46)
(n71)
(n47)
(n42)
(n89)
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Probability distribution of rankings 3 years
before and after the prize
(n172)
(n169)
(n166)
(n167)
Note that, in all cases, the winners centrality
provides a slightly better indicator (for the
highest ranks)
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How does the distribution of winners rankings
evolve? (Part I Physics)
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How does the distribution of winners rankings
evolve? (Part II Chemistry)