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Wars of Technology T he flight of Sputnik was a direct result of immense technological advances made during World War II. The war was not only a battle between the Allies (Britain, China, the Soviet Union, the United States, and others) and the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan), but also it had a profound effect on science. Both sides made significant technological discoveries during the war. Nazi Ger- many pioneered advances in rocketry, and the United States developed the world’s first nuclear weapons. Chemical labs cooked up new compounds, including napalm, which the Americans used in incendiary bombs. Radar, using waves of energy to detect enemy aircraft, was put into widespread use, changing the face of battle. Scien- tists also developed practical articles such as plastic wrap (used as a covering for guns during transport) and cardboard milk and juice containers. As World War II ended, the Cold War, a political and ideological battle between the communist world (led by the Soviet Union) and the Western democracies (led by the United States), began. Science and technology took center stage in a geopolitical struggle that would last nearly fifty years. Nations spent much of their treasure trying

to outdo each other technologically. Governments recruited scientists in support of national defense as both sides increased spending on scientific research projects, many of which had military applications. In the United States, for example, the Office of Naval Research was created in 1946 to encourage “sci- entific research in recognition of its paramount importance in the pres- ervation of national security.” Four years later, the government created the National Science Foundation not only to advance “national health, prosperity, and welfare,” but also to “secure the national defense.” The defense needs of the Cold War also changed the focus of many scientists. Mathematicians, for ex- ample, were called on to “model” various conventional and nuclear warfare situations, while computer

British military launch of a German V-2 rocket during Operation Backfire in Cuxhaven, Germany, in 1945. The launch was conducted to demonstrate the rocket to Allied military personnel.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY