The Challenger Expedition: the end of an era or a new beginning?

So much has been written about the origins, progress and results of the voyage, and the personalities involved (see Rice 1986 and references therein, Jones 1990, Rehbock 1992), that a detailed account here would be superfluous. However, to place the technological topic in context, particularly for readers unfamiliar with the voyage, a short summary of the expedition and its background is justified.