Photography and science

We cite from the cover:
"How do we know what an amoeba looks like? How can physicians see our skeletons and internal organs? How are we able to observe an exploding star in another galaxy? All of these things are made possible through the innovations of photography. Kelley Wilder here provides an exploration of the remarkably fruitful applications of photography to science, as she unravels the multiple facets of this complex relationship.
Photography first established its legitimacy through its close association with key scientific ideas and practices, such as observation, archiving and experimentation. In this book Kelley Wilder examines the role of photography in these practices, from the early photogrammetric images of crime scenes by Alphonse Bertillon, or Henri Becquerel's visualizations of radioactivity, to Berenice Abbott's image of a bouncing golf ball illustrating the principles of mechanics, or the more recent landsat satellite photos documenting the planet. Wilder also charts how photography has served as a powerful influence in various scientific disciplines, such as biology and astronomy. She further explores the reliability or otherwise of photography as experimental evidence, its use in practical fields such as medical and x-ray imaging, and the perennial and complicated relationship between scientific theory and art practice.
Augmenting this fascinating study are diverse photographs of scientific subjects and experiments."
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