Critical Problems in the History of Science (original) (raw)
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The discovery of electromagnetism and Maxwell's electromagnetic field theory was a new scientific revolution and opened the door to relativity and quantum physics, two theories that are now one hundred years old but are still at the very front of modern physics. The road from Maxwell to Einstein and Planck has many parallel paths and many exciting discoveries that we need to understand before we venture into quantum physics and relativity. The nineteenth century has multiple scientific revolutions that changed our perception of nature.
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This review gives a fresh look at the major discoveries leading to nuclear fission within the historical perspective. The focus is on the main contributors to the discoveries in nuclear physics, leading to the idea of fission and its application to the creation of the atomic bombs used at the end of the World War II. The present work is a more complete review on the history of the nuclear physics discoveries and their application to the atomic bomb. In addition to the traditional approach to the topic, focusing mainly on the fundamental physics discoveries in Europe and on the Manhattan Project in the United States, the nuclear research in Japan is also emphasized. Along with that, a review of the existing credible scholar publications, providing evidence for possible atomic bomb research in Japan, is provided. Proper credit is given to the women physicists, whose contributions had not always been recognized. Considering the historical and political situation at the time of the scientific discoveries, thought-provoking questions about decision-making, morality, and responsibility are also addressed. We hope that this work, referring to the contributions of over 20 Nobel Prize winners, will be inspirational and will stimulate interest in the history of physics not only in physicists but in other readers of all backgrounds, genders, and generations.
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The ability to harness energy is a basic requisite for the existence of any civilization. Energy makes things happen. The story of energy essentially is the story of the progress of mankind. We have come a long way since the days our ancestors discovered fire. The explosion of technological advances has however taken place in a rather short time span of about 200 years as compared to the hundred thousand years of the use of fire. The industrial revolution and all the scientific progress happened only after we discovered and started tapping the fossil fuel resources. Unfortunately, this rapid progress has also been accompanied by a rapid population growth. The fossil fuels which were formed millions of years ago will not last forever and it is time to enhance alternative forms of energy production. In the present article we shall discuss this need for alternatives and consider one of the strongest candidate, namely, the nuclear energy option.
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This article highlights the Atomic Age that announced itself to the world with the destruction of two Japanese cities in 1945. After the first bomb fell, on Hiroshima in August, mankind suddenly realized that it possessed a new technology of unprecedented destructive power. In 1948, Untermyer transferred to the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. The lab traced its origins to Enrico Fermi, who with Leo Szilard had been first to demonstrate a nuclear chain reaction only six years earlier. Argonne was the first national laboratory with the mission of developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Untermyer left General Electric (GE) in 1964 to find the National Nuclear Equipment Corp. to design and manufacture equipment for the nuclear industry. He was awarded several more patents. GE’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor also makes use of passive systems. According to GE, the reactor has more than 72 hours of passive running capability, and its simplified systems make it...
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The development of nuclear energy technologies in the second half of the 20th century came with great hopes of rebuilding nations recovering from the devasta-tion of the Second World War or recently released from colonial rule. In coun-tries like France, India, the USA, Canada, Russia, and the United Kingdom, nuclear energy became the symbol of development towards a modern and technologically advanced future. However, after more than six decades of experi-ence with nuclear energy production, and in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it is safe to say that nuclear energy production is not without its problems. Some of these problems have their origins in the very materiality of the technolo-gies involved. For example, not only does the use of highly radioactive materials give rise to risks for the current generation (e.g., in the potential for disaster when reactors melt down) but high-level radioactive waste from nuclear energy production presents a serious intergenera...