The nuclear physicists or the late 1800s referred to themselves as an orthodoxy of scientists, especially those who worked in the field of the transmutation of the elements. This was the field that started in the late 1800s and culminated with the production of the atomic bomb in 1945.
Many of the scientists thought long and hard about how this community of scientists managed themselves. Who decided what to work on, who decided what theories were correct, what was it that made the whole process of discovery move forward to untangle this puzzle of how the atom was composed, how elements could be modified by irradiation and how elements were to be catalogued. We take the periodic chart of the elements for granted today, but someone had to devise the logic of how to arrange all the elements in a logical manner. This logical manner, once devised, led the scientist in predicting what elements could exist but not yet discovered. Some could be created by bombardment of the nucleus, but not to survive due to decomposition. Refer to https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-transuranic-elements-s/ in order to better understand why no elements higher than Atomic Number 92 exist in nature.
It was the unwritten function of the orthodoxy that intrigued Michael Polanyi, a Hungarian born in Budapest. He became a chemist working in the field of nuclear chemistry but also had a keen interest in the philosophy of science---thus the questions he raised and tried to answer on how this orthodoxy of scientists functioned without a distinct organization. In reality, he was an advocate of the way that the orthodoxy functioned with its natural laws, and was therefore against the concept of central planning.
On the question of who managed the program of scientific development, Polanyi used the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle. He posed the question of how could, say, four people work most efficiently and speedily to assemble the crossword puzzle? Assume the four people were presented with a pile jigsaw pieces. Each took a handful of pieces and each tried to put them together, only looking at their own handful of pieces. Given this situation, it would take the four a long time to put together the jigsaw puzzle. Polanyi suggested that the way scientists worked was the each of the four not only looked for the opportunities to assemble their pieces, but each also monitored what the other three were doing with their pieces and what pieces they had that might work for others, and vice versa.
This concept of their operation led to more rapid advancement of science, but only in an atmosphere of non-competitiveness. In this air of non competitiveness, personal gain came in the form of professional recognition through being the first to publish results of their study in journals such as NATURE. Once it became obvious that monetary gain over and above personal gain could be achieved, then some secrecy entered the picture. However, in the field of nuclear physics, not many scientists saw any opportunity for monetary gain.
Then, once it became obvious that this technology had to be kept secret from the Germans during the onset of WWII, then the orthodoxy of scientist who published freely and frequently had to find a way to shut down the communication to prevent the clues of how to release the energy of the atom from the their German competitors. It was unsuccessful, as the orthodoxy of scientists who communicate freely over decades could not close all the leaky sources.
We really don't know how close the Axis powers came to development of the bomb as their means to win WWII, but they certainly were on their way.
Many of the scientists thought long and hard about how this community of scientists managed themselves. Who decided what to work on, who decided what theories were correct, what was it that made the whole process of discovery move forward to untangle this puzzle of how the atom was composed, how elements could be modified by irradiation and how elements were to be catalogued. We take the periodic chart of the elements for granted today, but someone had to devise the logic of how to arrange all the elements in a logical manner. This logical manner, once devised, led the scientist in predicting what elements could exist but not yet discovered. Some could be created by bombardment of the nucleus, but not to survive due to decomposition. Refer to https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-transuranic-elements-s/ in order to better understand why no elements higher than Atomic Number 92 exist in nature.
It was the unwritten function of the orthodoxy that intrigued Michael Polanyi, a Hungarian born in Budapest. He became a chemist working in the field of nuclear chemistry but also had a keen interest in the philosophy of science---thus the questions he raised and tried to answer on how this orthodoxy of scientists functioned without a distinct organization. In reality, he was an advocate of the way that the orthodoxy functioned with its natural laws, and was therefore against the concept of central planning.
On the question of who managed the program of scientific development, Polanyi used the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle. He posed the question of how could, say, four people work most efficiently and speedily to assemble the crossword puzzle? Assume the four people were presented with a pile jigsaw pieces. Each took a handful of pieces and each tried to put them together, only looking at their own handful of pieces. Given this situation, it would take the four a long time to put together the jigsaw puzzle. Polanyi suggested that the way scientists worked was the each of the four not only looked for the opportunities to assemble their pieces, but each also monitored what the other three were doing with their pieces and what pieces they had that might work for others, and vice versa.
This concept of their operation led to more rapid advancement of science, but only in an atmosphere of non-competitiveness. In this air of non competitiveness, personal gain came in the form of professional recognition through being the first to publish results of their study in journals such as NATURE. Once it became obvious that monetary gain over and above personal gain could be achieved, then some secrecy entered the picture. However, in the field of nuclear physics, not many scientists saw any opportunity for monetary gain.
Then, once it became obvious that this technology had to be kept secret from the Germans during the onset of WWII, then the orthodoxy of scientist who published freely and frequently had to find a way to shut down the communication to prevent the clues of how to release the energy of the atom from the their German competitors. It was unsuccessful, as the orthodoxy of scientists who communicate freely over decades could not close all the leaky sources.
We really don't know how close the Axis powers came to development of the bomb as their means to win WWII, but they certainly were on their way.
Comments
Post a Comment