Between Data, Mathematical Analysis and Physical Theory: Research on Earth’s Magnetism in the 19th Century

Abstract

Abstract This article examines how researchers in the nineteenth century formulated relationships between data, theory and mathematical analysis in research regarding Earth’s magnetism. Primary characters in this story include Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), Christopher Hansteen (1784–1873) and Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855). Their geomagnetic investigations provided models for generations of researchers. Their approaches transformed this broad area of research from one which combined speculative physical theories and a seemingly Baconian quest for magnetic data into one which developed new instrumental procedures and a new approach to mathematical analysis which constrained and directed both physical theory and data collection. Although both physical theorizing and extensive data collection continued after Humboldt and Gauss, the character of these activities and their relationships had changed.

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