Points critical: Russia, Ireland, and science at the boundary

This essay compares the way in which Russia and Ireland have defined themselves since the mid-nineteenth century as scientific nations (or not) by following the careers of D. I. Mendeleev (1834-1907) and Thomas Andrews (1813-85), both of whom were involved in the discovery of the "critical point" boundary between liquids and gases. Mendeleev and Andrews deployed their critical-point research in a similar fashion to integrate science into the national identity for their respective countries, a strategy that proved far more successful for Mendeleev than for Andrews.