ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the study of materials played a role in the development of experimental and mathematical methods before the modern period. Knowledge of materials, of chemical processes, and of methodologies kept accumulating over the centuries in the secrecy of its sanctuaries. Mechanics, mathematics, and science, especially the physics of materials, have converged to give computers. The stars and many astronomical phenomena awakened man’s curiosity and questioning from time immemorial, but equally paramount were the problems of the surrounding material world. Glass in its various forms, mirrors, lenses and so on, highlights optical phenomena in ways that no other material does, enabling its analysis. The scientific culture of Europe continues to rest on man’s ability to manipulate materials in a technical effort to extend the power of visualisation so as to bring all knowledge of the universe within measurable parameters.
