What's nu? A re-examination of Maxwell's 'ratio-of-units' argument, from the mechanical theory of the electromagnetic field to 'On the elementary relations between electrical measurements'.

This re-examination of the earliest version of Maxwell's most important argument for the electromagnetic theory of light-the equality between the speed of wave propagation in the electromagnetic ether and the ratio of electrostatic to electromagnetic measures of electrical quantity-establishes unforeseen connections between Maxwell's theoretical electrical metrology and his mechanical theory of the electromagnetic field. Electrical metrology was not neutral with respect to field-theoretic versus action-at-a-distance conceptions of electro-magnetic interaction. Mutual accommodation between these conceptions was reached by Maxwell on the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) Committee on Electrical Standards by exploiting the measurement of the medium parameters-electric inductive capacity and magnetic permeability-on an arbitrary scale.

The making of measurement: Editors' introduction.

This special issue consists of selected papers arising from the interdisciplinary conference "The Making of Measurement" held at the University of Cambridge on 23-24 July 2015. In this introduction, we seek ways to further productive interactions among historical, philosophical, and sociological approaches to the study of measurement without attempting to lay out a prescriptive program for a field of "measurement studies." We ask where science studies has led us, and answer: from the function to the making of measurement.