The National Labs : Science in an American System, 1947-1974

The National Labs : Science in an American System, 1947-1974

  • ただいまウェブストアではご注文を受け付けておりません。 ⇒古書を探す
  • 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版/ページ数 403 p.
  • 言語 ENG
  • 商品コード 9780674009486
  • DDC分類 507.2073

Full Description


The national laboratories - Livermore, Berkeley, Los Alamos, Argonne, Oak Ridge and Brookhaven - have occupied a central place in the landscape of American science for more than 50 years. Responsible for the development of nuclear weapons, reactors, and other technologies that shaped American policy and culture in the Cold War, scientists from these labs also pursued physical and biomedical research that fundamentally changed our understanding of nature. But all of this has come at great cost, in terms of finance, facild<"@ities, and manpower, and has forced major adjustments in the framework of American science. Deeply researched and lucidly written, "The National Labs" is the first book to trace the confluence of diverse interests that created and sustained this extensive enterprise. Peter J. Westwick takes us from the origins of the labs in the Manhattan Project to their role in building the hydrogen bomb, nuclear power reactors, and high-energy accelerators, to their subsequent entry into such fields as computers, meterology, space science, molecular biology, environmental sciences and alternative energy sources.By showing us that the national laboratory system developed as a reflection of American ideals of competition and decentralization in the Cold War, Westwick also demonstrates how scientific institutions reflect the values of their surrounding political system and culture.

Contents

* Introduction * Why Study the Labs? * What Were the Labs? * The Approach * I. The Framework *1. Origins * Manhattan Project * Postwar Plans * Postwar Realities *2. Individuality * Contractors * Laboratory Organization * Manpower *3. Interdependence * Security * Organization of the AEC * The Path of Proposals * The Lab Directors' Club * II. The Environment *4. Cold War Winter, 1947--1954 * Drivers * Big Equipment * Small Science *5. False Spring, 1954--1962 * Nationalism and Internationalism * Boundary Disputes * III. Consequences *6. Adaptive Strategies * Specialization * Diversification *7. Exemplary Additions * Biomedicine, 1947--1954 * Solid-State and Materials Science, 1954--1962 * IV. Epilogue and Conclusion *8. Epilogue, 1962--1974 * The Framework * The Environment * The Response *9. Conclusion: Strategy and Structure * The Actors * The System: A New Species * National Labs and National Goals * Appendix 1. Laboratory Operating Budgets, 1948--1966 * Appendix 2. Laboratory Operating Budgets, 1973 * Abbreviations * Notes * Index