Wynalazek palnika bunsenowskiego jako przykład relacji między nauką a rzemiosłem w XIX wieku

The Bunsen gas burner is today one of the most known scientific instruments. It is undoubtedly one of instantly recognizable symbols of modern science. Although invention of this type of burner is usually attributed to Robert Bunsen, well-known German chemist, the genesis of its original design, as it seems, has not been fully elucidated by historians of science. This paper presents detailed context of invention of this type of burner and in particular takes into account an important contribution to its design by Peter Desaga, little known German scientific instrument maker and mechanician at the University of Heidelberg. The paper gives several convincing arguments thatR. Bunsen was the originator (auteur intellectuel) of the burner, whereas Desaga was its actual designer and constructor (auteur matériel). A detailed investigation of the context of invention of the Bunsen burner is also an opportunity to sketch the character of a remark -able and unique relationship between scientists and craftsmen in the nineteenth century. The paper concludes with a discussion of the problem of so-called invisible technician (term due to S. Shapin) in the historiography of science.