Paper
The Effects of Defence Science on the Advance of Astronomy
Published Oct 1, 1977 · B. Lovell
Journal for the History of Astronomy
21
Citations
0
Influential Citations
Abstract
The period of 22 years from 1935 to 1957 will surely be regarded in history as an epoch when defence science not only influenced but actually revolutionized observational astronomy. The centre piece of this period is World War n but there are three separate events which are substantially localized in the longer period and which can now be seen to be the critical factors determining the nature of astronomical research today. They are the development of radar, the launching of Sputnik One and the growth of scientific manpower stimulated by the success of Allied science in World War n. The first two events have been responsible for opening the entire spectrum of astronomical observations and the third enabled the new technical skills to be injected into the practice of astronomy-hitherto restricted almost entirely to a limited circle of optical astronomers. It is difficult to imagine how any future generation can live through such a dramatic period of two decades during which the possibility for astronomical measurements was extended from a wavelength range of about 3 to 1 (from approximately 3,000 angstroms in the ultra-violet to 10,000 angstroms in the red) to a range of 1013 to 1, that is from the 10-12 metres of the y-rays to more than 10 metres at the long radio-wave end of the spectrum. Therefore, it seems worthwhile to consider in some detail how defence requirements led to this remarkable circumstance.
Defence science revolutionized astronomy during the period 1935-1957, with radar, Sputnik One, and the growth of scientific manpower enabling astronomical observations across the entire spectrum.
Full text analysis coming soon...