More about the book...
Excerpt from the book's Prologue
Science and war
Excerpt from the book's Prologue
Science and war
The one phase of Prussianism, borrowed under the stress of war from the enemy, which is likely permanently to remain, is systematic utilization of the scientific expert.
-- Thomas Dewey, 1918
No one needs persuading anymore that scientific progress and warfare now go hand-in-hand. What began with Fritz Haber in World War I reached full flower in the technical innovations of World War II, from radar and jet propulsion to the atomic bomb. A representative list of links related to this topic would overwhelm my modest website.
I'll just point toward a few things that I find particularly interesting.
A fascinating debate emerged toward the end of World War II among scientists working on the American atomic bomb. Among the scientists involved in this discussion were a few who had been friends of Fritz Haber, such as James Franck.
After the war, the scientists founded several institutions that remain active today. These include the Federation of Atomic Scientists, which has since been re-named the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), and a magazine, named the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Another organization, called the Union of Concerned Scientists, with strong links to FAS, emerged later.