1st Edition

A History of Technoscience Erasing the Boundaries between Science and Technology

By David F. Channell Copyright 2017
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    Are science and technology independent of one another? Is technology dependent upon science, and if so, how is it dependent? Is science dependent upon technology, and if so how is it dependent? Or, are science and technology becoming so interdependent that the line dividing them has become totally erased? This book charts the history of technoscience from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century and shows how the military–industrial–academic complex and big science combined to create new examples of technoscience in such areas as the nuclear arms race, the space race, the digital age, and the new worlds of nanotechnology and biotechnology.

    Introduction

    1. Relationships between Science and Technology

    Terminology

    Technology as Dependent upon Science

    Science and Technology as Independent

    Science as Dependent upon Technology

    Science and Technology as Interdependent

    Erasing the Boundaries between Science and Technology

    Notes

    Part I: The Roots of Technoscience

    2. From Science-Based Industry to Industry-Based Science

    Chemical-Based Industries

    Organic Chemical Industries – Synthetic Dyes, Pharmaceuticals and Plastics

    Heavy Chemical Industries – Alkalis, Acids and Explosives

    Electrical Industrial Research Laboratories – Electric Lighting

    Electrical Industrial Research Laboratories – Telephone and Radio

    Notes

    3. Setting the Stage for the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex: World War I

    The Military Build-Up to World War I

    World War I

    Chemical Warfare – Explosives

    Chemical Warfare – Gas

    Radio

    Naval Warfare

    Aerial Warfare

    Notes

    4. Setting the Stage for Big Science: The Interwar Period

    Chemical Research and Development

    Aviation Research and Development

    Rocket Research and Development

    Atomic and Nuclear Research

    Notes

     

    5. The Emergence of the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex and Big Science:

    World War II

    Uranium Research

    The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex

    Radar and Sonar

    Chemical and Medical Research

    Military Computers

    The Atomic Bomb -- Big Science

    Notes

    Part II: The Era of Technoscience

    6. The Nuclear Arms Race

    The H-Bomb

    Nuclear Reactors

    High Energy Physics

    Notes

    7. The Space Program

    The Missile Race

    The Space Race

    The Moon Race

    Astronomy

    Planetary Science

    Astrophysics

    Notes

    8. Electronics

    General Purpose Computers

    The Transistor

    The Integrated Circuit

    Computer Science

    Notes

    9. Material Science

    Lasers

    Superconductivity

    Nanotechnology

    Notes

     

    10. Biotechnology

    Genetics

    The Double Helix

    The Genetic Code

    Genetic Engineering

    The Human Genome Project

    Notes

    Epilogue

    11. The New World of Technoscience

    Works Cited

    Biography

    David F. Channell is Professor of Historical Studies and the History of Ideas at the University of Texas at Dallas.

    What is the connection between science and technology? Do technological advances spring from new discoveries in science (the view traditionally held by many), or could it be argued that the opposite occurs—that scientific discoveries depend on advances in technology? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between: science and technology are inexorably intertwined, belonging to a single discipline we might refer to as “technoscience. The relationship between science and technology is masterfully outlined in this work. Channell (Univ. of Texas, Dallas) surveys the literature for various interpretations of the connection between science and technology, while tracing these connections from the so-called Second Industrial Revolution in the 19th century through the relationship between science and technology during the two world wars, and culminating with a study of technoscience in the latter half of the 20th century as manifested in the fields of electronics, material sciences, and biotechnology. In sum, the book represents an important contribution to the fields of science and technology studies, while proposing new frameworks (and questions) for future historians - T. Timmons, University of Arkansas--Fort Smith, CHOICE Magazine