History of science and technology

PREFACE

Oleh Strelko — 2025-12-15

The present issue of History of Science and Technology (Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2025) brings together a wide-ranging collection of studies that illuminate the long-term dynamics of scientific knowledge, technological systems, and their social, cultural, and political entanglements. The contributions assembled here reflect the journal’s enduring commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and to the integration of diverse geographical, chronological, and methodological perspectives. Taken together, the articles demonstrate that science and technology are not isolated domains of technical ingenuity, but historically contingent processes shaped by imagination, institutions, power relations, material practices, and cultural values.

A unifying theme of this issue is the continuity between past and present: ancient myths and early mechanical devices resonate with contemporary debates on artificial intelligence; nineteenth-century academic networks prefigure modern systems of scientific communication; industrial technologies mature through decades of negotiation between laboratories, factories, and regulatory regimes; and cultural technologies such as music, cinema, and transport reveal deep interconnections between material innovation and human perception. By juxtaposing case studies from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, this issue underscores the global character of scientific and technological development while remaining attentive to local contexts and specific historical trajectories.

The issue opens with Ahmed Shaker Alalaq’s study “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Ancient Times: Between Myth and Interpretation”, which explores how ancient civilizations conceptualized artificial beings capable of thought and action. By examining myths such as Automata, the Golem, and other legendary constructs from Greek, Chinese, and Near Eastern traditions, the article demonstrates that the aspiration to create intelligent artifacts is not a product of the digital age alone. Rather, it is embedded in long-standing philosophical and cultural reflections on consciousness, creativity, and the boundaries of human agency. Alalaq’s contribution situates contemporary debates on artificial intelligence within a longue durée perspective, showing how ethical concerns, fears of loss of control, and hopes for human enhancement were already articulated in mythological form. In doing so, the article provides a conceptual bridge between ancient imagination and modern technological realities, reminding readers that innovation is often guided by deeply rooted narratives and symbolic frameworks.

Several contributions in this issue focus on the nineteenth century as a formative period for modern scientific institutions and communication networks. Denys Buhor’s article “Development of Ukrainian Mechanics: Context of Scientific Publications by Kharkiv Scientists of the 19th Century” offers a detailed historiographical and bibliometric analysis of the Kharkiv scientific milieu. By examining publications produced at Kharkiv University and the Kharkiv Institute of Technology, the study reveals how theoretical and applied mechanics developed in close institutional synergy. Figures such as Oleksandr Lyapunov and Volodymyr Steklov emerge not only as individual innovators but as representatives of scientific schools shaped by mentoring, academic heredity, and international exchange. Buhor’s work highlights the transition from isolated scholarly efforts to systematic research cultures aligned with industrialization and European scientific standards.

Complementing this perspective, the article by Natalya Pasichnyk, Renat Rizhniak, and Hanna Deforzh, “International Relations and Scientific Communication of the Imperial Novorossiya University in the Last Third of the 19th Century”, examines the mechanisms through which Odesa scientists integrated into the European scientific space. Focusing on translations, academic mobility, participation in international congresses, and the role of the Notes of the Novorossiya Society of Naturalists, the authors demonstrate how multilingualism and institutional platforms facilitated knowledge circulation. This study underscores that scientific globalization in the nineteenth century was not a one-way transfer of ideas from Western Europe to the periphery, but a complex process of adaptation, negotiation, and mutual recognition.

The transition from scientific knowledge to industrial application is examined in Artemii Bernatskyi’s article “Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding of Low-Alloy Steels: From Scientific Concept to Industrial Technology (1970s–2020s)”. This contribution traces the four-decade trajectory of hybrid welding from laboratory experiments to its selective stabilization in sectors such as shipbuilding, pipeline construction, wind-energy infrastructure, and offshore engineering. By emphasizing institutional conservatism, certification barriers, and capital intensity, Bernatskyi shows that technological diffusion of innovations is rarely linear or inevitable. The article also situates hybrid welding within contemporary sustainability debates, revealing how a technology originally developed for productivity gains later acquired environmental significance through reduced material consumption and extended service life of structures.

A cluster of articles addresses the socio-political dimensions of technology in architectural and infrastructural contexts. Bharoto Bharoto, Himasari Hanan, and Andry Widyowijatnoko, in “Institutionalising Concrete Construction Technology: A Socio-Technical Formation of Modern Architecture in Indonesia”, analyze how concrete became the dominant material of postcolonial Indonesian architecture. Drawing on social construction theory, the authors show that technological institutionalization unfolded differently under the Old Order and the New Order regimes, yet resulted in a durable socio-technical system that bridged ideological and economic transformations. This study contributes a valuable Global South perspective to Science and Technology Studies by demonstrating that modernity emerges through negotiated, context-specific processes rather than simple technological transfer.

Similarly, Hary Ganjar Budiman and colleagues explore colonial power relations in “Colonial Technopolitics in the Dutch East Indies: A Study of Colonial Hydroelectric Power in Pamanoekan and Tjiasemlanden Plantation”. By combining archival research with historical archaeology, the authors reveal how hydroelectric infrastructure functioned as an instrument of colonial technocracy. Hydropower stations are shown not merely as technical achievements, but as mechanisms for rendering nature calculable and for integrating local environments into global economic networks. The article foregrounds the concept of technopolitics, emphasizing that technology operates simultaneously as material infrastructure and as a means of governance.

Petra Hyklová’s contribution, “Negotiating a Great Telescope: The Case of Czechoslovakia”, offers a detailed reconstruction of the political, institutional, and personal negotiations surrounding the construction of the Ondřejov 2-m telescope. The article demonstrates that large scientific instruments are products of complex collaborations involving scientists, manufacturers, state administrations, and international partners. By highlighting the parallel development of similar telescopes in Czechoslovakia and Azerbaijan, Hyklová reveals how scientific ambitions intersected with Cold War politics, economic constraints, and long-term planning. The continued operation of these instruments today underscores the durability of such negotiated technological systems.

The cultural dimensions of technology are explored in the article “Pneumatics, Acoustics and Digital Sound: The Organ in the History of Science and Technology” by Olena Spolska and co-authors. Treating the organ as a long-lived technological system, the study traces its evolution from the ancient hydraulis to contemporary digital and hybrid instruments. The article demonstrates how advances in pneumatics, acoustics, metallurgy, electrification, and computation were gradually absorbed into organ building without erasing earlier traditions.

Transport history and the culture of speed form the focus of the next article “The History of the Emergence, Development and Improvement of High-Speed Railways”. By combining technical, socio-economic, and cultural analysis, the authors show how high-speed rail transformed perceptions of space and time while serving as a tool of regional integration and economic development. From the Shinkansen and TGV to contemporary maglev and Hyperloop concepts, high-speed rail emerges as a key component of twenty-first-century energy-intelligent mobility.

The issue concludes with the article “Silent Cinema as a Technological System: Infrastructure, Innovation, and Institutionalization (1890–1930)” by Liudmyla Vaniuha and colleagues. Challenging the view of silent cinema as a primitive precursor to sound film, the authors demonstrate that this period established the foundational technological and institutional structures of modern cinema. Projection systems, permanent theaters, studio infrastructures, special effects, and genre formation collectively transformed film into a global medium of mass communication. This study highlights cinema as a paradigmatic example of how technology, industry, and culture co-evolve.

Together, the articles in this issue of History of Science and Technology illustrate the richness and diversity of contemporary scholarship in the field. They reaffirm that the history of science and technology is best understood through interdisciplinary approaches that connect technical detail with social context, institutional frameworks, and cultural meaning. By bringing ancient myths into dialogue with artificial intelligence, colonial infrastructures with postcolonial modernity, and nineteenth-century scientific schools with global knowledge networks, this issue invites readers to reflect on the enduring and evolving relationship between humanity and its technologies.

We hope that this collection will stimulate further research, foster international dialogue, and contribute to a deeper understanding of science and technology as historical processes that continue to shape our present and future.

The Editorial Board expresses its sincere gratitude to the authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team for their dedicated work and for supporting interdisciplinary scholarly dialogue.

Artificial Intelligence and robotics in Ancient Times: Between myth and interpretation

Ahmed Shaker Alalaq — 2025-12-15

This research examines the concept of artificial intelligence and robotics across ancient times, where philosophers and scientists in ancient civilizations such as Greece and China sought to imagine beings capable of thinking and interacting, thus embodying humanity's desire to transcend the limits of its biological capabilities. These ideas manifest in mythical figures such as the "Golem" and "Automata" indicating the human preoccupation with the idea of creating intelligent beings. The study is of significant importance by helping us understand the historical roots of the cultural visions that have shaped the concept of artificial intelligence today. It also raises issues regarding the boundaries between myth and reality and what can actually be achieved. These issues relate to human ambitions versus technological possibilities, raising questions about ethics and the necessity of setting limits on these innovations. Additionally, this topic contributes to the analysis of philosophical and cultural thought in human and machine interactions, that strengthens our comprehension of the complex interaction between humans and technology in the contemporary world. Thus, this topic represents a bridge between the past and the future, where ancient myths can help guide us toward a future of artificial intelligence and robotics with a human and ethical character. It is worth noting that the evocation of these ancient visions is not limited to the historical dimension alone, but also opens the way for us to understand how human imagination has always been the primary driving force behind scientific and technological progress. The myths crafted by ancient civilizations were not merely symbolic tales; rather, they constituted an initial framework for reflecting on issues that remain relevant today, such as the boundaries of consciousness, the possibility of simulating the human mind, and the question of what it means to be human. Re-reading these myths in light of current developments in artificial intelligence and robotics offers us an opportunity to reshape our relationship with technology – not merely as a useful tool, but as a cultural and ethical force that demands critical awareness and shared responsibility.

Development of Ukrainian mechanics: Context of scientific publications by Kharkiv scientists of the 19th century

Denys Buhor — 2025-12-15

This study presents a comprehensive historiographical and content analysis of the development of Ukrainian mechanics in the 19th century, examining scientific publications by Kharkiv scientists through a historical lens. Special attention is paid to the institutional and intellectual contribution of Kharkiv University and Kharkiv Institute of Technology, which together created a unique scientific ecosystem that promotes both theoretical and applied research in the field of mechanics. The study uses an interdisciplinary methodology that combines a historical approach, a content analysis of primary sources, and bibliometric methods to track thematic trends, terminological evolution, and the dynamics of scientific communication. The results of the study indicate that during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Kharkiv emerged as a significant scientific center in the Russian Empire and Eastern Europe. Theoretical mechanics at Kharkiv University flourished thanks to the work of prominent scientists such as O. M. Lyapunov, V. A. Steklov, and I. D. Sokolov, who laid the foundations of modern stability theory, nonlinear dynamics, and mathematical modeling of mechanical systems. At the same time, Kharkiv Institute of Technology developed applied mechanics under the leadership of V. L. Kyrpychov and his colleagues, innovators in research in the field of strength of materials, structural engineering, machine design, and industrial technologies. The analysis highlights the notable synergy between the two institutions, reflected in inter-institutional training, joint research efforts, and the formation of powerful scientific schools. The publication activity of Kharkiv mechanical scientists showed a wave-like trend, reaching a peak between 1880 and 1905, driven by the demands of industrialization and international scientific integration. This period marked a paradigm shift from isolated intellectual efforts to systematic, collaborative scientific production. This article argues that the legacy of Kharkiv mechanical science lies not only in the creation of advanced theoretical constructs, but also in the institutionalization of technical education and research, which significantly contributed to the modernization of Ukrainian and Eastern European engineering sciences. The conclusions drawn from this study offer a deeper understanding of the processes of knowledge production, transfer, and adaptation in the context of scientific globalization of the 19th century. The results of the study show that institutional cooperation between Kharkiv University and the Technological Institute contributed to the creation of a unique scientific ecosystem, which ensured the effective development of mechanics as a scientific discipline. The article reveals the importance of this process for the further formation of Ukrainian technical thought in the 20th century and emphasizes the significance of the legacy of Kharkiv scientists in the global context of the history of science.

International relations and scientific communication of the Imperial Novorossiya University in the last third of the 19th century: The context of the development of Natural Science

Natalya Pasichnyk — 2025-12-15

The article is devoted to the study of international relations and forms of scientific communication of natural scientists of the Imperial Novorossiya University in the last third of the 19th century. The work traces how scientists and teachers gradually integrated into the European research and academic space, using a number of channels ‒ from translations of Western European literature and adaptation of methodologies to participation in international congresses and academic mobility programs. The authors analyze the role of the “Notes of the Novorossiya Society of Natural Scientists” as an institutional platform for the dissemination of scientific results, which combined the publication of local research with an orientation to the needs of the European scientific community. The publication regularly published articles with summaries in foreign languages, which facilitated interaction with foreign colleagues. The practice of exchanging copies with foreign libraries was also revealed, which made the “Notes” an important channel of scientific communication between Odesa and leading centers in Europe. Special attention was paid to the participation of Odesa scientists in international congresses on Biology, Medicine, and Zoology in Berlin, Paris, and Geneva. Their reports reflected the results of research on the Black Sea, as well as cooperation with German and French scientific schools. This contributed to increasing the prestige of the university, recognition of Odesa scientists in the European academic community, and transformation of the university into an important center of science in the region. The authors studied the processes of academic mobility of teachers and students. Teachers trained in laboratories in Berlin and Paris, mastering new experimental methods, which were later used in Odesa. Students had the opportunity to undergo internships at European zoological stations and in scientific clinics, which contributed to raising the level of their future dissertation research. At the same time, the university hosted foreign scientists, whose lectures and seminars broadened the worldview of the academic community and contributed to integration into international intellectual processes. A special place in the work is occupied by the analysis of translation activities and the influence of Western European methodologies. It is shown that the translations of the works of Ch. Darwin, E. Haeckel, R. Virchow, C. Bernard, and J. Charcot, carried out in particular by the Odesa publishing house “Mathesis”, contributed to the spread of modern concepts and the formation of academic terminology. This not only improved the quality of the educational process but also formed multilingualism as a feature of the university's scientific culture. The conclusions emphasize that international relations and scientific communication were key factors in the formation of the Imperial Novorossiya University as a regional center of natural sciences with European characteristics. The experience of Odesa in the last third of the 19th century showed that integration into the international scientific space was ensured by combining local research practices with global trends and the wide use of channels of intellectual exchange.

Hybrid laser-arc welding of low-alloy steels: From scientific concept to industrial technology (1970s–2020s)

Artemii Bernatskyi — 2025-12-15

The article examines the historical development of hybrid laser-arc welding of low-alloy steels from the formulation of the hybrid concept in the late 1970s to its emergence as an industrial technology in the early 21st century. Two interrelated but historically non-synchronous trajectories are identified: the evolution of fundamental and applied scientific research on laser-arc interaction and the subsequent formation of sustainable industrial applications in shipbuilding, pipeline welding, wind turbine tower manufacturing, and energy structures. Based on scientific publications, institutional reports, and documented industrial implementations in Germany, Denmark, Finland, USA and China, the path of hybrid welding transition from laboratory experiments to serial production in sectors with complex design requirements is reconstructed. Particular attention is paid to the role of leading research centers, as well as technology transfer processes. It is shown that the significant time lag between scientific justification and industrial implementation was due not only to the level of development of laser equipment, but also to institutional conservatism, certification barriers and high capital intensity of laser-oriented production systems. The sectoral nature of the technology’s spread is separately analyzed, which explains why hybrid laser-arc welding first became established in European shipbuilding, later in selected pipeline projects in North America, then in the production of wind energy towers in Germany, and to the greatest extent in offshore and energy structures in China. The fundamentally important rethinking of this technology in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is also considered, with an emphasis on reducing heat input, reducing welding consumables, reducing deformations and extending the service life of large steel structures. It is proven that hybrid laser-arc welding did not emerge as a universal alternative to traditional arc or submerged arc processes, but as a highly productive targeted solution determined by the interaction of scientific knowledge, industrial demand, institutional networks, and long-term structural changes in steel-intensive industries.

Institutionalising concrete construction technology: A socio-technical formation of modern architecture in Indonesia

Bharoto Bharoto — 2025-12-15

The institutionalisation of construction technology in postcolonial architecture has seldom been studied through Science and Technology Studies, particularly in developing countries where political agendas often shaped modernisation more than industrial growth. This article addresses this gap by analysing the socio-technical process of institutionalising concrete construction technology in Indonesian architecture between 1959 and 1981. Drawing on Berger and Luckmann’s social construction theory, especially externalisation and objectivation, the study frames the Old Order and the New Order as successive regimes that produced and stabilised technological meanings within their respective national development narratives. The research investigates presidential speeches, governmental policies, and practitioners’ writings to trace historical discourses linking technology and national development. Findings indicate that these discourses were initially divergent: the Old Order focused on nation building through monumental projects, whereas the New Order emphasised social welfare through economic growth. Gradually, these contrasting discourses interacted and contributed to the objectivation of concrete as the dominant material and construction method in post-independence Indonesian architecture. Developmental discontinuity under the Old Order (1959-1966) generated modernity arising from economic constraints but marked by innovation through unprecedented concrete applications. In contrast, the New Order (1966-1981) produced modernity characterised by efficiency, utilisation of local materials, and social empathy amid economic surplus. Despite these differences, concrete construction technology persisted architecturally, bridging both regimes. The institutionalisation process thus represents a negotiated socio-technical transition rather than a linear diffusion of modern technology. This Indonesian case contributes to global Science and Technology Studies debates by offering a Southern perspective on how modern architecture materialises through historically and contextually contingent technological constructions.

Colonial technopolitics in the Dutch East Indies: A study of hydroelectric power in Pamanoekan and Tjiasemlanden Plantation

Hary Ganjar Budiman — 2025-12-15

This study aims to explore the historical development of hydroelectric power technology in the Dutch East Indies during the early 20th century, with a particular focus on the Pamanoekan and Tjiasemlanden plantation, currently managed by PTPN VIII Tambaksari-Ciater Plantation area in Subang, West Java. It seeks to investigate the transformation of water engineering technology from indigenous vernacular irrigation systems to modern irrigation and eventually to hydroelectric power plants. The study also examines the process of technological adaptation, the role of colonial engineers, the origin of technical components, and the operational mechanisms of hydroelectric stations within the broader context of Ethical Policy and colonial technocracy. The study integrates textual archives, and material remains into an interpretive narrative using a historical archaeology method. Private colonial plantations are treated as sites where domination over natural resources was enacted. Fieldwork focused on three hydroelectric stations – Cijambe, Gunungtua, and Cinangling – and was complemented by diverse textual sources, including newspapers, engineering journals, speeches and proceedings of Dutch engineers, colonial water regulations, company booklets, geological surveys, and plantation maps. This study's analysis applies the concept of technopolitics, framing technology not as a neutral instrument but as integral to the political-economic agendas of colonial rule. Findings indicate that the three hydroelectric stations expanded the colonial infrastructure regime following the implementation of irrigation projects in Pamanoekan and Tjiasemlanden. The Ethical Policy provided a civilizing narrative that legitimized technical rationalization. Through water flow engineering, colonial authorities and private enterprises – mediated by engineers – rendered rivers calculable and measurable, sustaining plantation-based industrial production while maintaining indigenous subsistence rice cultivation. Thus, the development of hydroelectric technology in Pamanoekan and Tjiasemlanden was not merely a technical achievement but a technopolitical project that mobilized water resources to consolidate economic productivity through networks of private enterprises, technocratic agencies, and international equipment distributors.

Negotiating a great telescope: The case of Czechoslovakia

Petra Hyklová — 2025-12-15

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences undertook a long, complicated journey towards obtaining a 2-m refractor comparable to the largest instruments in the world, inaugurating it during the XIIIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union held on August 22‒31, 1967 in Prague. The journey can be reconstructed from archival materials and recorded memories of the witnesses. What made this situation unique is the fact that two very similar telescopes were ordered at roughly the same time for the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Azerbaijan SSR; those telescopes were developed in parallel to reduce costs, becoming the second and third in the Zeiss series of 2-m universal telescopes. The astronomical institutes of CSSR and AzSSR had to negotiate and compromise their requirements, and in addition, because constructing a large telescope and bringing it into service takes many years, anticipate future developments in the relevant fields as well as requirements for equipment and configuration. Successful completion of this international project required a high number of negotiations between astronomers from both institutions, the instrument manufacturer VEB Zeiss Jena, the highest levels of the state administrations, the Czechoslovak foreign trade company KOVO, and multiple other corporations from CSSR and the GDR involved in the construction and delivery of the telescope, its dome, and associated equipment. The project understandably experienced issues such as misunderstandings and delays, which all those actors had to deal with. The outcome of this early effort is a telescope that, following numerous modernisations, is still used for research in today’s Czech Republic. This paper explores this early history of this telescope – from the first suggestions to the delivery and construction in the observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the CSAS in Ondřejov – with particular attention to the negotiations among key actors and to their personal reflections and memories of the process.

Pneumatics, acoustics and digital sound: The organ in the history of science and technology

Olena Spolska — 2025-12-15

This article analyzes the historical development of the organ as a complex technological system whose evolution reflects successive transformations in scientific knowledge, materials, and engineering practices from antiquity to the digital age. The study employs a combined methodology of historical textual analysis, examination of archaeological and material evidence, and interpretation through the technological-systems approach, supported by modern acoustical and engineering research. The results demonstrate that each major stage in organ history corresponds to a distinct scientific and technological environment. The Hellenistic hydraulis reveals early applications of pneumatic and hydraulic regulation grounded in the mechanical theories of Ctesibius and described by Vitruvius, while Roman and Byzantine adaptations illustrate how metalworking, woodworking, and empirical acoustics shaped early organ design. The medieval period shows a shift toward large wooden structures, the refinement of tin-lead alloys, and the emergence of elaborate tracker mechanisms suited to the architectural acoustics of Romanesque and Gothic churches. Renaissance and early modern developments link organ building to the rise of mathematical acoustics, with theorists such as Zarlino and Mersenne providing conceptual explanations for pitch, scaling, and harmonic structure that informed workshop practice. During the Industrial Revolution, machine tools, standardized materials, and pneumatic assist devices enabled unprecedented increases in size, reliability, and mechanical complexity, while nineteenth-century acoustical science, particularly the work of Helmholtz, clarified the physical basis of pipe tone. Electrification in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries reshaped organ control systems, separating console and pipes, introducing electromagnetic actions, and integrating the organ into broader electromechanical networks. The second half of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century reveal the growing influence of electronics, digital sampling, physical modeling, CNC manufacturing, and hybrid designs that combine traditional pipes with computational sound generation. Taken together, these findings show that the organ evolved not through the replacement of old technologies by new ones but through their continuous accumulation, reinterpretation, and integration within changing scientific paradigms. The article concludes that the organ’s two-millennia history offers a distinctive case study for understanding long-term interactions between scientific knowledge, material innovation, and technological continuity.

The history of the emergence, development and improvement of high-speed railways: Technical, socio-economic and cultural aspects

Oleh Strelko — 2025-12-15

The article deals with a comprehensive historical and analytical study of the formation and evolution of high-speed railway transport as one of the key technological and sociocultural transformations of modern society. The aim of the article is to reveal historical patterns of formation, technical evolution and socio-cultural significance of high-speed railway transport in a global context. The authors aim to show how the desire for speed became not only an engineering challenge, but also a driver of economic, urban and civilisational modernisation. An interdisciplinary approach combining historical-technical, comparative and socio-economic analysi has been used. Such a combination is justified by the essence of high-speed railways. They are not just a transport technology, but a phenomenon that combines material engineering, state policy, the culture of speed, and human perceptions of space and time. For this reason, the logic of the study is not limited to a list of technical facts, but aims to show how an engineering idea gradually became a social reality. The source base includes peer-reviewed scientific publications, technical reports from railway companies, documents from international organisations, and contemporary research on the history of transport and engineering. The technical background of high-speed rail transport has been analysed since 19th-century railways to post-war projects of the mid-20th century, including Japan’s Shinkansen system, France’s TGV and Germany’s ICE, as well as the subsequent development of a global high-speed railway network in China, Europe and other countries. The article combines technical, engineering, socio-economic, and cultural-civilisational approaches. It is shown that high-speed railway is not only an infrastructural phenomenon but also a social one, shaping mobility, urbanisation, regional integration, and environmental sustainability. The latest innovations of the 21st century: magnetic levitation, Hyperloop systems, and digitalisation, determining the transition to the era of energy-intelligent mobility have been considered separately. It has been concluded that the history of high-speed railway transport reflects the overall evolution of engineering thought, public policy and the culture of speed, which is transforming humanity's understanding of space, time and steady development.

Silent cinema as a technological system: Infrastructure, innovation, and institutialization (1890–1930)

Liudmyla Vaniuha — 2025-12-15

This article examines the period from the 1890s to the late 1920s as the stage in which cinema became a stable technological and social institution through the interaction of five key developments: the system introduced by the Lumière brothers, the emergence of permanent movie theaters, the formation of the first film studios, the introduction of early special effects, and the appearance of recognizable film genres. The study applies a historical-technological approach combining the analysis of primary technical documentation, architectural evidence, studio infrastructure records and recent international scholarship to identify how concrete innovations in mechanics, optics, illumination, chemical processing and exhibition design reshaped moving-image production and spectatorship. The results show that the Lumière system established reproducible projection standards and enabled the international circulation of moving images; that permanent movie theaters created controlled visual environments, standardized viewing schedules and supported longer narrative formats; and that early studios introduced regulated lighting, set construction and division of labor, transforming filmmaking into an industrial process. The analysis also demonstrates that special effects expanded representational capacity through multi-exposure, miniature models, masking techniques and color processes, and that genres emerged in relation to technological conditions, with comedy tied to variable cranking, melodrama to controlled lighting, epic and adventure films to large-scale staging and horror to manipulated architectural space and shadow. These developments collectively contributed to the global diffusion of cinema, the formation of shared cultural reference systems and new modes of social interaction grounded in collective spectatorship. The conclusion suggests that further research should investigate how these foundations supported the later adoption of synchronized sound and influenced the long-term evolution of audiovisual media.