History of science and technology

PREFACE

Oleh Strelko — 2026-06-25

The present issue of History of Science and Technology brings together a diverse collection of studies devoted to the historical development of scientific knowledge, technological systems, research institutions, and socio-technical transformations across different regions of the world. The contributions included in this volume cover a broad chronological range, extending from pre-modern documentary cultures and early administrative systems to contemporary discussions concerning energy technologies, industrial innovation, and technological heritage. Together, they demonstrate the vitality of the history of science and technology as an interdisciplinary field and highlight the value of approaches that connect technical developments with political, social, economic, and cultural contexts.

A common feature shared by many of the studies presented in this issue is their attention to the institutions, communities, and environments within which scientific knowledge is produced and technological practices evolve. Rather than treating science and technology as autonomous domains, the authors examine the interaction between innovation and governance, expertise and power, material culture and social change. The issue therefore contributes to broader historiographical discussions concerning the circulation of knowledge, the construction of technological systems, and the role of science and technology in shaping historical processes.

The issue opens with Gennadiy V. Bulavko’s article “ Sunlight harvested: A historical evolution of materials for photovoltaics, solar fuels, photocatalysis, and emerging light-charged devices”. The author examines the historical evolution of materials used for the conversion, storage, and utilization of solar energy. By integrating the histories of photovoltaics, photocatalysis, solar fuels, and photo-assisted energy storage within a single analytical framework, the study identifies common technological trajectories and material-design principles that have shaped modern sustainable-energy research. Particularly valuable is the article’s long-term perspective, which reveals how recurring questions of efficiency, durability, resource availability, and environmental sustainability have influenced successive generations of energy technologies. In doing so, the contribution demonstrates that many challenges currently associated with the green-energy transition have deep historical roots extending well beyond contemporary climate debates.

Questions of administration, information management, and state governance are addressed in the contribution by Sherzodjon Choriyev and his co-authors devoted to the archival system of the Bukhara Khanate. Their study demonstrates how documentary practices, chancery procedures, and recordkeeping systems functioned as essential instruments of political authority and administrative control in Central Asia. By reconstructing the organization of archival documentation and its practical functions, the authors contribute to a deeper understanding of information management in pre-modern states and expand the documentary history of the region.

The role of individuals whose scientific contributions remained largely invisible for decades is explored in Yolanda Muñoz Rey’s article on women employed as calculators at the Royal Observatory of the Navy in San Fernando. The study contributes to the growing historiography of gender and science by restoring the place of women within the institutional history of astronomy and scientific labour.

The circulation of agricultural knowledge and the formation of professional scientific communities constitute the focus of Svitlana Nyzhnyk’s contribution. Through the history of scientific meetings and congresses, the article reveals how mechanisms of communication and exchange shaped the development of agricultural science and facilitated the dissemination of expertise across institutional and regional boundaries. The study highlights the importance of scientific networks in transforming local knowledge into broader professional practices.

A different perspective on science and technology is offered next article in examination of the Chernobyl disaster. Rather than treating the accident solely as a technological failure, the author situate it within broader discussions of safety culture, organizational decision-making, and the governance of complex technological systems. The article demonstrates that the consequences of Chernobyl extended far beyond the immediate events of April 1986 and profoundly influenced international approaches to nuclear safety, risk management, and regulatory oversight. By linking the disaster to wider questions of institutional responsibility and technological governance, the author emphasize its enduring significance for both the history of nuclear energy and contemporary debates concerning high-risk technologies.

The complex relationship between scientific knowledge and political repression is explored in the article by Marat Ybyraikhan and his co-authors devoted to the Scientific Agricultural Experimental Station of Karlag. Drawing upon archival sources, the authors reconstruct the activities of imprisoned scientists and reveal how research continued to be conducted within one of the most restrictive environments of the Soviet era. Their findings contribute to a growing body of scholarship on repressed science and demonstrate the paradoxical coexistence of scientific productivity and political coercion within the Soviet camp system. The article also provides valuable biographical and institutional insights into the lives and work of researchers whose contributions remained largely absent from mainstream historical narratives.

The history of encyclopedic knowledge receives attention in the contribution by Mykola Zhelezniak and Oleksandr Ishchenko, who analyze the development of the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana (Treccani). Their research demonstrates how encyclopedias function not only as repositories of knowledge but also as instruments that shape national and international representations of history, culture, and identity. Particularly noteworthy is the discussion of Ukraine-related entries within the Treccani corpus, which provides a useful perspective on the ways in which Ukrainian history and culture have been represented within European intellectual traditions. More broadly, the article illustrates how encyclopedic projects adapt to changing technological environments while preserving their role as authoritative sources of knowledge.

Agrarian modernization, state policy, and food security emerge as central themes in Pantelis Zoiopoulos’s study of interwar Greece. By examining debates surrounding agricultural development and national self-sufficiency, the article highlights the important role played by scientific expertise in economic planning and rural transformation. The study further illustrates how agricultural policy became intertwined with broader questions of modernization, national development, and social stability.

Material culture and technological heritage are represented by the article of Zoya Chegusova, Mykhailo Bokotei and, Volodymyr Khyzhynskyi devoted to Ukrainian huta glass. Combining the history of technology with art-historical approaches, the authors reconstruct the development of glassmaking traditions and emphasize their significance within the broader history of Ukrainian craftsmanship and industrial culture. The study demonstrates that huta glass should be understood not only as an artistic phenomenon but also as a technological achievement shaped by local resources, production techniques, and professional knowledge. By integrating material, technological, and cultural perspectives, the article contributes to ongoing discussions concerning the preservation and interpretation of industrial and artistic heritage.

The interaction between technology and everyday life is examined in Rostyslav Konta’s study of Mayak tape recorders in late Soviet Ukraine. Through the analysis of production practices, technological constraints, and patterns of consumption, the article demonstrates how sound-recording technologies became integrated into the social and cultural experience of late socialism. In doing so, it offers valuable insights into the relationship between industrial production and everyday technological practices.

Urban modernization and technological change form the central theme of Mohamad Khairul Anuar Mohd Rosli’s contribution on the history of lighting in Kuala Lumpur. The transition from traditional forms of illumination to electrified urban environments is presented as a process that transformed not only infrastructure but also daily routines and perceptions of urban space. The article thus connects the history of technology with broader questions of urban development and modernization.

The history of medicine is represented by the article of Vivi Sandra Sari and her co-authors, who examine the development of ophthalmological services in Indonesia. Their study highlights the institutional, professional, and social dimensions of healthcare modernization and demonstrates how medical knowledge became embedded within broader processes of societal transformation. The contribution also illustrates the importance of regional perspectives in understanding the global history of medicine.

The issue concludes with Andrii Tarasenko’s contribution on compartmentalization and system ranking in armored vehicle design. By comparing engineering approaches developed in different countries, the author demonstrates how technological solutions emerged in response to common military challenges and how their legacy continues to influence contemporary armored-vehicle development. The article provides an important reminder that many current engineering concepts originate in earlier periods of technological experimentation and strategic competition.

Taken together, the articles published in this issue confirm that the history of science and technology remains one of the most dynamic and intellectually diverse areas of historical scholarship. The studies presented here examine not only inventions, discoveries, and technological artefacts, but also the institutions, communities, and social processes that enabled their emergence and dissemination. They demonstrate that scientific knowledge is always produced within specific historical circumstances and that technological systems are shaped as much by human choices and social conditions as by technical considerations alone.

The volume also illustrates the increasingly international character of research in the history of science and technology. Contributions from scholars representing different academic traditions and geographical regions provide opportunities for comparative perspectives and methodological exchange. Although the subjects examined range from pre-modern archival systems to contemporary energy technologies, many of the articles share a common concern with the ways in which knowledge is organized, transmitted, preserved, and applied in changing historical environments.

The Editorial Board hopes that the studies assembled in this issue will stimulate further scholarly discussion, encourage international cooperation, and inspire new research into the historical dimensions of science, technology, and innovation. By bringing together contributions that cross disciplinary, chronological, and geographical boundaries, this volume seeks to promote a deeper understanding of the complex processes through which scientific knowledge and technological systems have shaped human societies in the past and continue to influence them in the present.

The Editorial Board expresses its sincere gratitude to the authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team whose efforts made the publication of this issue possible.

Sunlight harvested: A historical evolution of materials for photovoltaics, solar fuels, photocatalysis, and emerging light-charged devices

Gennadiy V. Bulavko — 2026-06-25

This review treats sunlight as a central driving resource for sustainable technologies and analyzes how materials have been developed to capture, convert, and store solar energy in distinct yet related functional pathways. A historically grounded and cross-disciplinary framework is applied to four main classes of sunlight-driven processes: conversion of solar radiation to electricity, storage of solar energy in chemical bonds, photocatalytic degradation of pollutants, and direct light-assisted energy storage. The evolution of photovoltaic systems is examined from crystalline and multicrystalline silicon to thin-film absorbers, dye-sensitized and organic solar cells, and contemporary metal halide perovskites and tandem configurations, with emphasis on the interplay between efficiency, stability, and material availability. Photoelectrochemical and catalytic routes to solar fuel production are analyzed with specific attention to the development of metal oxides, molecular complexes, nanostructured catalysts, and selective CO₂ reduction systems as platforms for storing sunlight in chemical bonds. Photocatalytic environmental remediation is considered in the context of semiconductor design, interfacial charge-transfer processes, and the integration of light-harvesting materials into water and air treatment schemes. Recent advances in light-charged and photo-assisted energy storage, including photo-batteries, photo-supercapacitors, redox-based solar energy storage concepts, and photo-responsive concentration cells, are evaluated as emerging approaches that seek to couple photon absorption, charge separation, and storage within unified device architectures. Across these domains, the study identifies recurrent materials design principles, including band gap and band alignment optimization, catalyst coordination environment, interfacial and kinetic control, operational durability, reliance on abundant and low-toxicity elements, and life-cycle compatibility with large-scale deployment. By comparing these trajectories within a single analytical framework, the work delineates common patterns of technological success and failure and defines realistic directions for the rational development of adaptive molecular, hybrid, and semiconductor materials for next-generation sunlight-driven energy and environmental technologies.

The history of the court archive of the Bukhara Khanate (later Emirate) in Central Asia

Sherzodjon Choriev — 2026-06-25

This research analyzes the formation and operation of the palace archive systems within the Bukhara Khanate (later the Emirate) within the broader context of Central Asian state administration traditions. The study applies a comprehensive approach to examine administrative structures, focusing specifically on the role of the divans (chanceries) in organizing the archival system. The findings demonstrate that the divans functioned not only as executive bodies but also as central nodes coordinating the processes of document collection, systematization, and preservation. Within the palace infrastructure, the institutions of the library (kutubkhona) and the treasury (khazinakhona) performed secondary yet vital archival functions, serving as centralized repositories for documents of political, economic, and diplomatic significance. Document turnover was managed through a system of registers (daftars), which simultaneously served as data-recording tools and a scientific-reference apparatus. Notably, the alphabetical arrangement of geographical names within these registers facilitated rapid information retrieval and ensured greater administrative efficiency. Source analysis indicates that these registers were more than mere accounting tools; they functioned as essential institutional mechanisms for ensuring the stability of state power, maintaining systematic control over the administrative apparatus, and providing a documentary basis for decision-making processes. Furthermore, the systematic archiving of separate registers for each type of revenue and expenditure, coupled with the rigorous oversight of responsible officials, reflects a high degree of financial discipline and accountability. Despite the Bukhara Emirate becoming a protectorate of the Russian Empire after 1868, local traditions of record-keeping and archiving successfully persisted. The research concludes that the archival system in Bukhara's state administration functioned not merely as a passive means of information storage, but as a critical, active institution for economic and administrative control. While the Bukhara Khanate (and subsequent Emirate) shared distinct similarities with other Muslim states regarding governance, record-keeping, and archival systems, the transition of power between ruling dynasties introduced specific modifications, even as the traditional preservation of permanent archival records remained a constant, defining feature of the state.

Women as calculators in a military Observatory in Spain

Yolanda Muñoz Rey — 2026-06-25

The Royal Astronomical Observatory of the Navy in San Fernando is one of Spain's oldest and most important scientific institutions, and led by director Cecilio Pujazón, actively participated in the international astronomy cooperation project The Sky Map, launched in Paris in 1887 in the Conference of Astronomists and proposed by Mouchez. As a military institution, women's access to its work was historically difficult, compounding the already difficult access of women to the world of science. However, like other observatories, the Observatory of San Fernando hired women to perform measurements and calculations for astrophotographic plates, a painstaking task requiring many hours of work. This strategy was implemented because hiring women was more economical and submissive. This study, with a methodology of bibliography and documental research which includes consultation of the Observatory of San Fernando's historical archives (especially the Master Books), seeks to discover, make visible, and empower the presence of these women from a gender perspective. Information was found on 30 women hired between 1919 and 1967 and this period coincided with a very difficult political and social time for women in Spain. They were hired in lower positions and were fired when they got married. Although their work was rendered invisible and their roles subordinate, their presence in a male-dominated military institution paved the way for future hiring. The analysis concludes that, both in this observatory and in others, the discriminatory circumstances of their work highlight the persistent gender inequality in science. This study joins others already underway at observatories around the world (Harvard, Melbourne, Paris, the Vatican) where women were also hired under similar circumstances. All these studies aim to bring these women out of anonymity and conduct gender studies within the scientific community. At the international level, it has been agreed to rename them as Women Astronomical Computers, and in future research, the aim is to create a common bank of digitized documentation of their work.

The academic platform for the history of agricultural education, science, and technology (2002–2025): From the concept of its creation to the academic tradition of personalized forums

Svitlana Nyzhnyk — 2026-06-25

This article presents a historical and scientific analysis of the formation and development of the research platform «History of Education, Science, and Technology in Ukraine» during the period 2002–2025. Its development reflects the process of institutionalizing historical and scientific research and the evolution of contemporary forms of academic communication in Ukraine. The aim of the study is to reconstruct and summarize the evolution of this scientific platform–from the concept of its creation at the beginning of the 21st century to the establishment of a stable academic tradition of holding thematic and personalized scientific forums. The methodological foundation is an interdisciplinary approach that combines historical-scientific analysis with content analysis of sources and conference materials. Systemic and structural-functional approaches made it possible to view the platform as a holistic scientific and communicative environment. It has been shown that the launch of the scientific platform, founded by the National Scientific Agricultural Library of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences and established by V. Vergunov, has become a key factor in the creation of a regular academic forum for discussing issues in the history of education, science, and technology. The main stages of its development, the transformation of its organizational forms of activity, and the expansion of the range of research topics are traced. Particular attention is paid to the establishment and development of the tradition of personalized scientific forums dedicated to prominent figures in Ukrainian science, education, and technology. It is argued that this model of organizing scientific events contributes to the deepening of historical-scientific research through the prism of scientific biographies, intellectual networks, and scientific schools. In this context, examples of forums dedicated to outstanding scientists, in particular O. Sozinov, are examined, demonstrating the growing significance of the personalistic approach in contemporary historical-scientific studies. The article examines the platform’s operation amid the pandemic and military challenges, which necessitated a transformation of the forum’s format to align with new social realities while simultaneously demonstrating its viability, adaptability, and crucial role in maintaining the continuity of scientific communication. It has been established that over the course of more than two decades, the platform has taken on the characteristics of a stable institutional form of scientific communication, combining conference practices, scientific publishing activities, and interdisciplinary research initiatives.

Chernobyl and the transformation of nuclear safety culture: Technological governance, risk, and expertise after 1986

Oleh Strelko — 2026-06-25

The Chernobyl disaster of 26 April 1986 remains one of the most significant technological accidents of the twentieth century and a defining event in the history of science and technology. While early interpretations of the accident focused primarily on reactor design deficiencies and operator actions, subsequent investigations demonstrated that its origins were rooted in a broader interaction of technological, organizational, and institutional factors. This article examines the Chernobyl disaster as a turning point in the evolution of nuclear safety culture and technological governance. Particular attention is devoted to the role of Soviet modernization policies, the development of the RBMK reactor programme, organizational culture within the Soviet nuclear industry, and the management of technical knowledge before and after the accident. The study employs methods of historical analysis, historiographical review, comparative analysis, and socio-technical systems analysis. It is based on international scientific literature, reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency, publications of the Chernobyl Forum, and recent studies in the history of technology, risk governance, and nuclear safety. The article analyses the technical and institutional origins of the disaster, the subsequent reassessment of nuclear risk, the crisis of technological expertise revealed by the accident, and the emergence of the concept of safety culture as a new framework for understanding technological reliability. The findings demonstrate that Chernobyl cannot be adequately explained as the consequence of either technical failures or human errors alone. The disaster represented a systemic failure arising from interactions among reactor design characteristics, organizational practices, institutional constraints, and deficiencies in the circulation of safety-related information. The study shows that the accident fundamentally transformed international approaches to technological risk, encouraged the development of safety culture as a key principle of nuclear governance, and stimulated new forms of international cooperation in the fields of nuclear safety, emergency preparedness, and regulatory oversight. The modernization of RBMK reactors after 1986 further illustrates how technological systems evolve through processes of institutional learning and adaptation. The article argues that the historical significance of Chernobyl extends far beyond the nuclear sector. The lessons derived from the disaster contributed to broader changes in the governance of complex technologies and remain relevant to contemporary discussions concerning sustainable technological development, risk management, and institutional resilience. Particular relevance is identified in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals associated with public health, sustainable energy, resilient infrastructure, and effective institutions. From the perspective of the history of science and technology, Chernobyl represents a crucial case study demonstrating how major technological accidents can reshape scientific knowledge, organizational practices, and international approaches to technological governance.

Repressed science in the service of agrarian development: The contribution of Karlag’s incarcerated scientists to Soviet agricultural science, 1930s–1950s

Marat Ybyraikhan — 2026-06-25

This article examines the Karaganda Agricultural Experimental Station (SKhOS) of the Karaganda Corrective Labour Camp (Karlag) as a scientific institution operating within the Soviet GULAG system in Central Kazakhstan from the 1930s to the 1950s. Despite its origins in a system of forced labour, the station made a significant contribution to Soviet agricultural science. The study is based on primary archival materials from the State Archive of Karaganda Region for Scientific and Technical Documentation (GAKO NTD, fond 26), verified through comparison with published collections of GULAG documents and memoir sources. The research employs the methods of institutional history, prosopographical analysis, and content analysis of archival scientific texts. The article reconstructs the organisational structure of SKhOS, a station comprising six scientific departments and a staff of ninety-eight employees, approximately 64 per cent of whom were prisoners. It offers a detailed analysis of the scientific contributions of seven identified prisoner-scientists: V. S. Pustovoit, who developed high–yielding varieties of rye and millet that tripled field productivity; S. A. Arkhangelskii, whose vegetable–breeding programme produced zoned varieties, including a tomato variety registered in thirteen oblasts of the Kazakh SSR; A. A. Kornilov, whose experiments on photoperiodism in spring wheat hybrids and on the continuous illumination of millet challenged established assumptions in Soviet plant physiology; P. A. Verteletskii, who developed the drought–resistant spring wheat variety Karagandinskaia, recognised as a regional standard and sown by 1949 on an area exceeding 7,000 hectares; A. V. Lanina, whose work in livestock breeding contributed to the creation of the Kazakh White-Headed beef cattle breed, awarded the Stalin Prize in 1940; Ia. E. Vasiltsev, who organised a systematic campaign against glanders in the camp’s horse population; and B. K. Fortunatov, whose programme for breeding fine–fleeced fat–tailed sheep was interrupted by his death from brucellosis in 1940. Over two decades, SKhOS registered ninety-two new varieties of agricultural crops, sixteen of which were approved by the State Commission for Variety Testing for cultivation in several regions of the USSR. The station also supplied district seed–production farms with more than 37,837 centners of elite-category grain seed. The article argues that SKhOS represented a distinctive regime of knowledge production – coerced expert science – in which repressive institutional control, practical agrarian demand, and the professional culture of prisoner-scientists generated a contradictory yet measurable scientific outcome. The gradual absorption of the station into the mainstream of Soviet and Kazakhstani agronomy following the liquidation of Karlag in the mid-1950s is interpreted as an unrecognised transfer of scientific heritage created under conditions of state coercion. A promising direction for further research is the specialised study of the surviving issues of Transactions of the Karaganda Agricultural Experimental Station and of the holdings of the museum in Dolinka.

History of the formation of the Italian national encyclopaedic tradition: The Treccani Project (1925–2025). A preliminary enquiry

Mykola Zhelezniak — 2026-06-25

The study examines the emergence and development of Italy’s national encyclopaedic tradition as shaped by the activities of the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani. Its centenary in 2025 provides an important context for reassessing its cultural mission. The research uses descriptive and analytical methods to systematise, interpret, and compare primary and secondary sources related to Italian encyclopaedism. It identifies the core features that established the Treccani project as a state-building intellectual initiative. These include the early integration of academic expertise, geographically and disciplinarily diverse authorship, and a sustained commitment to presenting verified knowledge within a unified humanistic paradigm. The analysis shows how the Institute evolved from an ambitious interwar publishing initiative into a major scholarly institution with long-term influence on the humanities and social sciences in Italy. Particular attention is devoted to the digital transformation undertaken in the twenty-first century. This transformation significantly expanded the accessibility, thematic breadth, and public relevance of the Institute’s encyclopaedic resources. Ukrainian-related materials within the Institute’s print and digital collections are also explored, with no evidence found of direct participation by Ukrainian scholars in the creation of the original encyclopaedic corpus. This absence indicates the need for further research into how Ukrainian topics have been mediated through Italian intellectual traditions and represented within European reference culture. The findings highlight Treccani’s role as a durable model of national knowledge consolidation and demonstrate the broader significance of encyclopaedic institutions for cultural diplomacy and transnational intellectual history. Future research should examine how Ukrainian-related entries in Treccani are constructed at the level of authorship, sources, and narrative framing, as well as how these representations differ from those found in Ukrainian encyclopaedic traditions.

Evolution of Greek agriculture with emphasis on Interwar period: A historical approach

Pantelis Zoiopoulos — 2026-06-25

This article reviews the main events composing the developments of Greek agriculture during the Interwar period, paying tribute principally to agriculturists, the main actors to whom the State assigned the task and who bore the burden of materializing State’s policy. However, a brief account is given at first to Greek agricultural evolution in the 19th century after the War of Independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, in order to pose the questions and give the physiognomy of the environment wherein various events took place. Such events included the struggle of landless peasants for settlement – a promise given by the State to the veterans of the War of Independence – as well as the Parliamentary Law for the expropriation of big estates (tsifliks) and the efforts for the agricultural settlement of native peasants. As regards the Interwar period there were two colossal tasks to be accomplished. Firstly, the final agricultural settlement of landless peasants, together with that of 1.3 million of Greek refugees arriving at mainland after the Greek catastrophic defeat by the Turks in Minor Asia in 1922. Secondly, the successful tackling of the greatest problem of the Greek agricultural history, namely wheat self-sufficiency and the rise of wheat production as well as the protection of wheat producers, who otherwise would be a prey to usurers’ mercy. In addition, further milestones were laid in Greek agriculture during the Interwar period such as the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture, the foundation of Agricultural Bank, the Agricultural University in Athens, the adoption of the Co-operatives Law, the great efforts for land reclamation and the introduction in the cultivation of modern agricultural machinery. Furthermore, brief account is also given to developments of Greek agriculture from 1940 onwards, including the confrontation of local people’s famine during German Occupation through food provisioning, the Resistance, as well as the Civil War, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshal Plan, Food and Agriculture Organization mission to Greece and the country’s Reconstruction, arriving at Greece’s entry as a full member to the European Economic Community on 1st January 1981.

Blown glass in Ukraine: Historical and technological features in comparison with Murano and Bohemian glass traditions

Zoya Chegusova — 2026-06-25

The purpose of this study is to identify the historical and technological characteristics of Ukrainian blown glass through a comparative analysis of Ukrainian, Murano, and Bohemian glassmaking traditions. The article examines the development of glass production in Ukrainian lands from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century and evaluates its place within the broader context of European glassmaking. The research is based on methods of historical analysis, comparative technological analysis, and material culture studies. The source base includes historical, archaeological, archaeometric, and art-historical publications devoted to glassmaking technologies, forest glassworks, artistic glass production, and the preservation of traditional manufacturing knowledge. Particular attention is paid to the technological aspects of glass production, including raw materials, glass compositions, furnace technologies, manufacturing practices, and mechanisms of technological knowledge transmission. The study demonstrates that Ukrainian blown glass developed under conditions significantly different from those that shaped the Murano and Bohemian traditions. Unlike the highly regulated and centralized production system of Murano, Ukrainian glassmaking evolved through a decentralized network of forest glassworks dependent on local resources and empirical knowledge. In contrast to the increasingly standardized and export-oriented Bohemian model, Ukrainian hutas remained closely connected to regional markets and adapted production technologies to local environmental and economic conditions. The research shows that the technological characteristics of Ukrainian blown glass, including chemical variability, visible inclusions, colour variations, and irregular forms, were direct consequences of the production environment and should be interpreted as material evidence of historical manufacturing processes rather than solely as indicators of technological limitations. The article further analyses the transformation of huta traditions during the twentieth century. It is demonstrated that many technological practices associated with historical forest glassworks survived within artistic glass production, educational institutions, and professional communities. As a result, huta technologies gradually evolved from a regional manufacturing system into a form of technological and cultural heritage. The study concludes that Ukrainian blown glass should be regarded as a distinct historical and technological trajectory within European glassmaking rather than as a peripheral variant of the Murano or Bohemian traditions. The comparative analysis highlights the diversity of technological solutions that coexisted in European glass production and contributes to a broader understanding of the relationship between technology, craft knowledge, natural resources, and cultural development in the history of material technologies.

Mayak tape recorders in late socialist Ukraine: Industrial planning, technological constraint, and everyday sound practices

Rostyslav Konta — 2026-06-25

The article reconstructs the lifecycle of Mayak tape recorders in Soviet Ukraine as a socio-technical infrastructure shaped by centralized industrial planning, defense sector priorities, and everyday practices of domestic sound recording in the 1970s and 1980s. The study draws on a broad body of internal ministerial and factory documentation. It uses conjunctural market reviews, calculations of effective consumer demand, economic reports of the household magnetic recording industry, and internal quality analyses. A separate group of sources consists of survey materials and oral testimonies of users of Soviet household electronics, which make it possible to reconstruct everyday experiences of tape recorder use. The research applies infrastructural analysis, source criticism, and historical reconstruction of statistical data. This approach makes it possible to trace the relationship between industrial organization and everyday sound practices. Documentary evidence indicates that technological quality functioned as an economic category. It was measured through defect losses, warranty repair costs, and post-production expenses, linking technological limitations with financial and institutional outcomes. The findings demonstrate that structural shortage, uneven assortment, and dependence on repair infrastructures shaped domestic listening practices. They also facilitated informal sound circulation, including home copying and magnitizdat. The study concludes that Mayak tape recorders functioned simultaneously as planned commodities and as media infrastructures of private sonic life. They defined the material conditions for the formation of the personal acoustic environment in late socialist Ukraine. The analysis also demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between technological systems and user practices, showing how everyday uses of recording technology contributed to redefining notions of quality, functionality, and accessibility within the late socialist industrial framework.

From Pelita to electric lamp: An evolutionary study of lighting technology in Kuala Lumpur, 1880s‒1940

Mohamad Khairul Anuar Mohd Rosli — 2026-06-25

This article aims to examine the transformation of lighting systems in Kuala Lumpur, a major town in Selangor, Malaya from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. This study analyses how the process of illuminating the home at night shifted from a laborious hand-on task to a significantly more convenient and efficient system as a result the development of science and technology-based infrastructure particularly the provision of electricity. In additional, this article explores how exactly lighting technology has been introduced and integrated into homes in Kuala Lumpur. To investigate these questions, the study applied qualitative and historical research methods. Most of the information and statistics used in this article were collected from primary sources, including archives and official documents of the Electrical Department and the Selangor Secretariat Files published in the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. The study demonstrated that the provision of electricity as a domestic energy source by the Electrical Department played a significant role in advancing lighting technology in homes. The need to illuminate homes at night which was traditionally met through the use of the pelita, a container filled with kerosene that produces light through a lit wick has shifted to the use of electric lighting which provides illumination with just the flick of a switch. The development of lighting technology meant that the process of illuminating homes was no longer managed entirely by homeowners but also became the responsibility of the Electrical Department. Starting with the generation and distribution of electricity to consumers, the Electrical Department was subsequently responsible for managing household wiring systems and ensuring that the installation of electric lighting was properly carried out before it was used by consumer. Therefore, the evolution of lighting technology in Kuala Lumpur from oil lamp to modern electric lamp not only widened the nocturnal living spaces within homes but also afforded users with an enhanced sense of safety and comfort.

Healing the eyes of the Indies: Circulating and localizing European ophthalmological knowledge and technology in twentieth-century Yogyakarta

Vivi Sandra Sari — 2026-06-25

This research explores the emergence of ophthalmological practices in Yogyakarta, specifically within the realm of hospital practice. By focusing on the Prinses Juliana Gasthuis voor Ooglijders, this study analyzes the circulation and localization of European ophthalmological knowledge and technology within a colonial context. The investigation involved a thorough review of archival documents, including colonial and hospital reports, alongside an examination of the brands and origins of medical devices currently preserved at the Museum of Dr. Yap Prawirohusodo. The analysis utilizes David Arnold’s framework, which highlights intercultural exchange, regional circulation, and the hybridization of European knowledge and technology within a colony. The Prinses Juliana Gasthuis voor Ooglijders (Princess Juliana Hospital for Eye Disease Patients) was established in 1923 by Dr. Yap Hong Tjoen, a Chinese-Indonesian ophthalmologist who earned his doctorate from the University of Leiden. For this reason, his European education integrated him into a global network of medical expertise. He played a pivotal role in circulating ophthalmological knowledge and technology upon returning to the Dutch East Indies to work at the hospital. While he applied standardized European diagnoses and treatments for eye care, he simultaneously adapted this knowledge to local contexts by translating unfamiliar Western concepts for indigenous patients. Furthermore, the analysis of medical devices reveals a significant influx of imported equipment from Europe to Yogyakarta, underscoring the existence of a robust transnational network. Interestingly, the research also uncovers evidence of modification and self-fabrication, particularly regarding Snellen charts, wheelchairs, and medicine-compounding equipment. Such adaptations provide insight into how technology was tailored to suit local needs shaped by social, cultural, and physical factors. Ultimately, this study contributes to the historiography of medicine in the Dutch East Indies by examining the role of local agencies and the materiality of medical technology. It also underscores the significance of indigenous environments in the global dissemination and practical application of European medical science.

Compartmentalization and system ranking as fundamental design requirements for armored vehicles: Ukraine, Switzerland

Andrii Tarasenko — 2026-06-25

The proliferation of low-cost FPV drones has fundamentally altered the threat landscape for main battle tanks, elevating crew survivability to the primary design criterion and necessitating a reassessment of historical protection concepts. This study, through a comparative analysis of archival materials from the Swiss Federal Archives, declassified Soviet-era thematic publications, and the personal diaries of development participants, traces the independent emergence of the compartmentalization principle (Ukrainian term – division of the vehicle into compartments isolated from one another) within the Swiss and Ukrainian schools of tank design during the 1970s–1980s. The results demonstrate that both engineering schools, responding to the catastrophic tank losses during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, independently arrived at nearly identical solutions despite complete informational isolation. In the Swiss NKPZ project, «Kompartimentierung» was formally established as a mandatory evaluation criterion, with only two concepts ensuring complete physical separation of the crew, ammunition, and power pack. Concurrently, Kharkiv designers developed a compartmentalized layout based on the quantitative ranking of systems by their contribution to survivability, assigning the highest protection coefficient to the crew, who were placed in the most protected compartment. Both schools independently converged on three fundamental principles: locating the crew in an isolated rear capsule, utilizing the engine compartment as an additional protective barrier, and equipping ammunition compartments with blow-off panels to vent explosive energy outward. This developmental parallelism demonstrates that compartmentalization and system ranking represent an objective regularity in the evolution of specialized vehicles, rather than localized inventions. The timeliness of this research is underscored by the fact that the principles of compartmentalization and layered crew protection, developed in the 1970s as a response to the challenges of their era, are gaining renewed relevance today in light of the widespread use of FPV drones, which once again bring the issues of armored vehicle survivability and the prevention of catastrophic losses to the forefront.