War is good for science. Countries require their defence industries to invent military technologies, which are often based on science, sending money to researchers. So how does this intersection affect the course of research? Two books discuss the extent to which scientists change - or must change - what they do in response to national emergencies. The cold war is an excellent case study. It saw the continuation of the extraordinary development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and radar begun during the Second World War. Science and Technology in the Global Cold War, an essay collection edited by science historians Naomi Oreskes and John Krige, addresses the question: were scientists guided by curiosity, or did national funding redirect them towards military technological applications? Its answer: although redirection is inevitable and powerful, so is curiosity.
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