Nuclear Reactions: Science and Trans-Science

"Blurb & Contents" "Marvelous reading, with few problems of the interaction between science/technology and society left untouched. One need not always agree, but one cannot come away without a better education....I found the parts on scientific administration and on the interaction of science and society excellent and provocative reading, and the parts on energy and nuclear energy very much to the point." American Journal of Physics Alvin Weinberg explores through these collected essays the ever troublesome relationship between science, technology, and society. The title is taken from Weinberg's assertion that most of the issues arising at the intersection of science and society depend upon answers to questions that lie outside the power of science--issues that are trans-scientific. Weinberg, who during World War II helped develop the first nuclear reactors, has much to say on the current role of nuclear power and the possibilities for the future. Other topics include strategic defenses and arms control, the role of the science administrator, and the way in which time, energy, and resources are allocated to public problems. In this remarkable record of a half- century of public-oriented work, Weinberg lays the foundation for a philosophy of scientific administration parallel to the more established philosophy of science.