Among its various objectives, the Poleni Museum also aims to stimulate reflections and discussions on the relationships between science and society. A section of the museum, dedicated to the study of electrical discharges in rarefied gases, shows for example how a spectacular research sector, which did not provide great results for over 150 years, leads at the end of the nineteenth century to discoveries that open the doors to modern physics and technological applications such as television or neon tubes.
Does it make sense, then, to distinguish between applied research and basic research when allocating funding? The Poleni Museum also exhibits objects that show the popularity of radium-based products in the 1920s-1940s – including a container with which anyone could prepare “curative radioactive drinks.” This highlights, on the one hand, the relationships between science and the market and, on the other hand, the radical way in which public perception of science can change in just a few years: in the case of radioactivity, the initial enthusiasm faded with World War II and especially with the accident at the Chernobyl plant, replaced by widespread fear, despite the leading role still played by radioactivity in some areas, such as the diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases.