Biography of an Artifact
The Theratron Junior and Canada’s Atomic Age
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14819201 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Pantalony (0009-0007-1786-7187, Canada Science and Technology Museum, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 51-63 |
| Publication date | 2011-12-16 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scientia Canadensis Canadian Journal of the History of Science Technology and Medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0829-2507 • E-ISSN: 1918-7750 |
| Publisher | University of Alberta Libraries (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.7202/1006928ar |
| OpenAlex | W2017324571 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
In this article I examine the life of an artifact, the Theratron Junior, a sleek green radiotherapy machine from 1956 displayed in a permanent exhibit at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. It is currently seen through the lens of Canadian innovations, but the Theratron Junior brims with features and history that touch on several other historical narratives—scientific, commercial, labour, aesthetics and patient experience. The striking “sea foam” green paint, for example, has inspired an independent exhibition at the museum on the colour green in twentieth-century medicine. In addition, research into the former life of the specific machine on display (serial no. 15 from 1956), including the people who made and used it, has produced a reinvigorated artifact biography that enriches and challenges conventional narratives from Canada’s early atomic era. The lessons from careful artifact studies are readily clear—we are missing opportunities by taking for granted the most familiar items on our museum floors
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Biography · Exhibition · Literature · Narrative · Sociology · Visual arts · Advances in Oncology and Radiotherapy · Computer Science · History · Science Education and Perceptions · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments · Artificial Intelligence
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |