Alina E. Merkulova

Junior Research Fellow

Saint Petersburg Branch of S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences

(St. Petersburg, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-113-122

Abstract. The article analyzes the organization and execution of a scientific competition on the fluid drag theory, announced in 1804 by the Admiralty and the Academy of Sciences. The research aims to determine the nature and results of the interaction between these two institutions. It demonstrates that the initiative for the competition originated with S. E. Guryev, an academician and instructor at the Naval Architecture School, and received support from Vice-Admiral P. V. Chichagov, an associate of the Minister of the Navy, as resolving a key problem in hydrodynamics was crucial for the advancement of shipbuilding technologies. However, collaboration between the Academy and the Admiralty was threatened with failure even during the preparation of the competition's task. It continued thanks to academician L. Yu. Kraft, who considered the Academy's interaction with central government bodies essential. Three submissions were received, undergoing expert review first at the State Admiralty Department and then at the Academy of Sciences. Z. Nordmark, a Swedish scientist and professor at Uppsala University, was unanimously selected as the winner. None of the contestants succeeded in the main objective – creating a new, comprehensive fluid drag theory – a task hardly feasible given the state of hydrodynamics at the beginning of the 19th century. Nevertheless, the experience of the joint competition was significant, demonstrating the naval leadership's understanding of the need for scientific development to address the practical challenges of the Imperial Russian Navy.
Keywords: Academy of Sciences, Admiralty, scientific competition, S. E. Guryev, Z. Nordmark, hydrodynamics, fluid drag theory, the Navy, Russian Empire.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Merkulova, AE 2025, ‘To Create a Comprehensive Fluid Drag Theory: Academy of Sciences and the Admiralty Competition of 1804–1806’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 113–122, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-113-122 (in Russ.)

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