The Invention That Changed The World
Created | Updated Jun 24, 2005
Book Review: (part of the Popular Science Book Project - A4166336)
The Invention That Changed The World - Robert Buderi
Certainly one of the most important technological developments of WWII, it is quite possible that without the development of radar and the command systems to make effective use of the information it provided, the Battle of Britain may well have ended differently. Though concentrating on the technological golden years of WWII, this book traces the history of radio detection from its earliest days through to its numerous post-war uses and implications.
From the early days, when a pre-WWII request for information on the feasibility of a Death Ray to attack enemy aircraft produced the response that "We can't knock a plane out of the sky, but we may be able to detect it at great distance", work progressed just quickly enough to have a usable long-wavelength system running in time for hostilities.
The subsequent and almost unplanned development of the cavity magnetron in 1940 (by a pair of researchers who built one as a tool to assist in a Cinderella research project) with an output more powerful than anyone expected made possible the construction of much more accurate radar sets, and ultimately portable units for navigation, nightfighting and anti-submarine warfare.
This book covers the whole history of the strongly Anglo-American collaborative development of radar systems, with lesser mention of German technology. The political situation between the UK and USA, as well as between various aspects of each country's government and various military arms also comes in for much scrutiny.
The latter ~two-fifths of the book deals with the post-war years, and covers the use of radar and radiotelescopes in astronomy, the development of Cold War early-warning systems, and the expansion of radar to civilian aviation uses, with lifesaving applications such as air traffic control, blind landing systems, etc.
The numerous other spin-offs resulting from the huge effort put into high-frequency electronics research are also given coverage.
Whilst some (like microwave spectroscopy) may be of deep interest to only a few, it is arguable that the drive to develop solid state electronic devices (and the impetus to computing provided by the need to process early-warning radar data) may have had the most profound impact on modern life
In short, good science, compelling history, thoroughly recommended.
The Invention That Changed The World - Robert Buderi
Certainly one of the most important technological developments of WWII, it is quite possible that without the development of radar and the command systems to make effective use of the information it provided, the Battle of Britain may well have ended differently. Though concentrating on the technological golden years of WWII, this book traces the history of radio detection from its earliest days through to its numerous post-war uses and implications.
From the early days, when a pre-WWII request for information on the feasibility of a Death Ray to attack enemy aircraft produced the response that "We can't knock a plane out of the sky, but we may be able to detect it at great distance", work progressed just quickly enough to have a usable long-wavelength system running in time for hostilities.
The subsequent and almost unplanned development of the cavity magnetron in 1940 (by a pair of researchers who built one as a tool to assist in a Cinderella research project) with an output more powerful than anyone expected made possible the construction of much more accurate radar sets, and ultimately portable units for navigation, nightfighting and anti-submarine warfare.
This book covers the whole history of the strongly Anglo-American collaborative development of radar systems, with lesser mention of German technology. The political situation between the UK and USA, as well as between various aspects of each country's government and various military arms also comes in for much scrutiny.
The latter ~two-fifths of the book deals with the post-war years, and covers the use of radar and radiotelescopes in astronomy, the development of Cold War early-warning systems, and the expansion of radar to civilian aviation uses, with lifesaving applications such as air traffic control, blind landing systems, etc.
The numerous other spin-offs resulting from the huge effort put into high-frequency electronics research are also given coverage.
Whilst some (like microwave spectroscopy) may be of deep interest to only a few, it is arguable that the drive to develop solid state electronic devices (and the impetus to computing provided by the need to process early-warning radar data) may have had the most profound impact on modern life
In short, good science, compelling history, thoroughly recommended.
