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Oliver Lodge's ether and the birth of British broadcasting
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posted on 2023-06-09, 17:34 authored by David HendyThis book chapter argues that the philosophical idea of the 'ether' advanced by the physicist Oliver Lodge in the late 19th century acted as a kind of 'public sphere', and hence influenced concepts of broadcasting in the early 20th century, especially in the case of the BBC in Britain. The influence of Lodge's ether was not just to popularise the notion of the airwaves as an intrinsically public space; it was also to suggest a notion of knowledge as something that could be synthesised across several intellectual domains. In setting out this argument, the chapter traces the passage of Lodge's thinking through popular magazines in the Edwardian era, and into concepts of broadcasting articulated by Reith and other founders of the BBC in the post-war era. It concludes that the BBC might be considered to be the real world embodiment of Lodge's etheric thinking.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh PressPublisher URL
Page range
183-197Pages
336.0Book title
A pioneer of connection: recovering the life and work of Oliver LodgePlace of publication
PittsburghISBN
9780822945956Series
Science and Culture in the Nineteenth CenturyDepartment affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Public Culture Hub Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Editors
James Mussell, Graeme GoodayLegacy Posted Date
2019-04-12First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-04-11Usage metrics
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