Tracers of modern technoscience

Abstract

Together with genes, drugs or standardized laboratory mice, isotopes might well be considered amongst the scientific objects that shaped science, technology, and medicine in the 20th century 1. Isotopes are forms of the same element that differ in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. Chemically identical yet physically distinct, ever since the end of World War II they have been widely applied to scientific research, medical diagnosis and therapy, and industrial control processes. The production, distribution and uses of isotopes have therefore borne witness to key aspects of modern technoscience, such as the role of state agencies vis-à-vis private companies and the market, or the relation between science, politics and the military. Affording a specific view of these developments, isotopes work as tracers of modern technoscience that invite historical research.