Science, Part 76

Question 1: Describe practical technology and science.

Answer 1: A famous example of a practical technological breakthrough with vast industrial applications, which also stimulated the development of theoretical science, is the invention of the steam engine. James Watt, the developer of the steam engine, was an engineer more than a scientist. Watt’s contribution was a modification of existing principles that led to a much more efficient steam engine. This had a huge impact on technology, economics, and science. Watt’s research led to fundamental research in the theory of heat and the science of thermodynamics, with its general equations of the transfer of energy. Thus, though Watt did not directly contribute to pure science, his work formed the foundation for important pure research. We may speculate, had social and educational conditions been different, that Watt would have pursued a scientific career rather than an engineering career.Science history provides many more examples of similar cases, indicating that pure and applied science often go hand in hand in advancing human knowledge.

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Question 2: How did Alfred Nobel fund his Nobel Prizes?

Answer 2: Alfred Nobel amassed a fortune, through inventions such as dynamite, which he used to found an endowment for the Nobel Prizes—now the standard measurement for scientific excellence among the public and the scientific community alike.Although Nobel cannot be counted as a scientist, because he did not contribute to scientific research per se, he did gain considerable knowledge in chemistry, which he used to practical effect as well as personal gain. Making money appeared to be his strongest motivation, and his primary business was the development and use of armaments. Nobel did take a strong interest in the technical aspects of his work. In later life his experiments contributed to the development of synthetic leather, silk, and rubber.At the end of his life, Nobel established a foundation that awarded prizes to persons who had contributed the most toward the ideal of peace in Europe. He set up five prizes in all, including the Nobel Peace Prize, for which he is most remembered.

Question 3: Describe the relationship between scientists and nuclear weapons.

Answer 3: The development of atomic weapons was one of the greatest (or most notorious) scientific feats of the twentieth century. The construction of the first atomic bomb and subsequent development of more-sophisticated weapons remain among the most controversial issues in science.Scientists such as A.O.C. Nier, Leo Szilard, Niels Bohr, Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, and a score of other brilliant physicists contributed to the Manhattan Project—the crash program to develop an atomic weapon to end World War II. The success of this and subsequent projects had both beneficial and negative effects for the world and for mankind.Many of the scientists involved had grave second thoughts about the use of these weapons. One moral of this fascinating and complex story is that scientists who develop powerful scientific applications can never be sure that the science will be used in ways of which they will approve.

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