In 2019 a collection of letters from the nineteenth-century natural philosopher Robert Were Fox was discovered in his home at Penjerrick in Cornwall. Fox came to the attention of scientific audiences for experimentally establishing that temperature increases with depth beneath the Earth's surface, and later secured fame for his magnetic dipping needle, developed to measure terrestrial magnetic phenomena. The newly uncovered Penjerrick letters constitute a valuable archival discovery with important historical ramifications for our understanding of Fox's work and its place within nineteenth-century science. As well as highlighting the central role of networking in promoting provincial science, the letters reveal the prominence of the Cornish mine as a site of experiment within British scientific culture. These venues presented Fox with unique spaces in which to scrutinize nature, but such philosophical investigations were unverifiable within a laboratory and appeared susceptible to inaccuracies arising from the working conditions of this uncontrollable environment. Nevertheless, the Cornish mine was crucial to the development of Fox's dipping needle, which became the premier device for making magnetic observations at sea in the 1840s. In this article, I demonstrate the epistemologically problematic nature of the mine as an experimental space that was to take on a central role in the worldwide magnetic survey that historians have described as the ‘Magnetic Crusade’.

2019 年，在康沃尔彭杰里克 (Penjerrick) 的家中发现了 19 世纪自然哲学家罗伯特·韦瑞·福克斯 (Robert Were Fox) 的一系列信件。福克斯因实验确定温度随地表以下深度而增加而引起科学观众的注意，后来他的磁浸针获得了声誉，该磁针被开发用于测量地磁现象。新发现的 Penjerrick 信件构成了一项宝贵的档案发现，对我们理解 Fox 的工作及其在 19 世纪科学中的地位具有重要的历史影响。除了强调网络在促进省级科学方面的核心作用外，这些信件还揭示了康沃尔矿山作为英国科学文化实验场所的重要性。这些场所为福克斯提供了审视自然的独特空间，但这种哲学研究在实验室内是无法验证的，并且似乎容易受到这种无法控制的环境的工作条件产生的不准确性的影响。尽管如此，康沃尔矿对福克斯浸针的发展至关重要，该浸针成为 1840 年代在海上进行磁观测的首要设备。在本文中，我展示了该矿作为一个实验空间在认识论上存在问题的性质，该空间将在历史学家称之为“磁十字军”的全球磁调查中发挥核心作用。但是这种哲学研究在实验室内是无法验证的，并且似乎容易受到这种无法控制的环境的工作条件所产生的不准确的影响。尽管如此，康沃尔矿对福克斯浸针的发展至关重要，该浸针成为 1840 年代在海上进行磁观测的首要设备。在本文中，我展示了该矿作为一个实验空间在认识论上存在问题的性质，该空间将在历史学家称为“磁十字军”的全球磁调查中发挥核心作用。但是这种哲学研究在实验室内是无法验证的，并且似乎容易受到这种无法控制的环境的工作条件所产生的不准确的影响。尽管如此，康沃尔矿对福克斯浸针的发展至关重要，该浸针成为 1840 年代在海上进行磁观测的首要设备。在本文中，我展示了该矿作为一个实验空间在认识论上存在问题的性质，该空间将在历史学家称之为“磁十字军”的全球磁调查中发挥核心作用。