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SUMMARY:How trees defy gravity: conceptual and historical remarks on the t
 heory of the ascent of sap - Harvey Brown (University of Oxford)
DTSTART:20140424T153000Z
DTEND:20140424T170000Z
UID:TALK51895@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Helen Curry
DESCRIPTION:The ability of trees to suck water from roots to leaves\, some
 times to heights of over a hundred meters\, is remarkable given the absenc
 e of any mechanical pump. In this talk I deal with a number of issues\, of
  both a historical and conceptual nature\, in the orthodox Cohesion-Tensio
 n (CT) theory of the ascent of sap in trees. The theory relies chiefly on 
 the exceptional cohesive and adhesive properties of water\, the structural
  properties of trees\, and the role of evaporation ('transpiration') from 
 leaves. But it is not the whole story. Plant scientists have been aware si
 nce the inception of the theory in the late 19th century that further proc
 esses are at work in order to 'prime' the trees\, the main such process 
 – growth itself – being so obvious to them that it is often omitted fr
 om the story.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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