Abstract
This paper provides an overview of various sites of chemistry in the Lower Hungarian mining district, one of the most important mining regions in the Habsburg monarchy, during the eighteenth century. Focusing on the academic laboratory of the mining academy at Schemnitz, it examines connections between this prominent place of chemical knowledge and the more traditional sites of metallurgical ...
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of various sites of chemistry in the Lower Hungarian mining district, one of the most important mining regions in the Habsburg monarchy, during the eighteenth century. Focusing on the academic laboratory of the mining academy at Schemnitz, it examines connections between this prominent place of chemical knowledge and the more traditional sites of metallurgical production. It argues for the crucial role of experts in the process of shaping and using these sites: men who were not recruited exclusively from among the professors of the mining academy. The contributions of these experts-for instance, in seeking a solution to the contemporary problem of brittleness of copper-reveal an elaborate scientific and technical savoir faire, which served the mercantile goals of the Habsburg administration.
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