A hundred years ago | Astronomical research and industrial development
This historical retrospective recounts a 1920s-era collaboration where a Swiss observatory used high-altitude research facilities to test industrial materials like rubber. It reflects on the intersection of astronomical research and practical industrial application during that period.
Why it matters
It provides historical context on how scientific infrastructure has long been leveraged for cross-disciplinary industrial testing.
The extensive use which is now being made of research facilities for testing materials destined for industrial use was recently illustrated in the sending of samples of rubber from England to Switzerland to be tested for moisture absorption.
This was undertaken by Dr. Kollieker, the Swiss Government astronomer, at the observatory situated over 11,000 feet above sea-level 2,000 feet or so beneath the crest of the Jung-frau mountain in the Bernese Oberland. Here weather conditions and atmospheric effects are studied, the station being fitted with a high-power telescope for astronomical research.
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