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The physicists [electronic resource] : the history of a scientific community in modern America / by Daniel J. Kevles.

by Kevles, Daniel J.

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New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1978.

Physics -- United States -- History.

Physicists -- United States.

Science -- United States -- History.

Electronic Resource

http://hawaii.lib.overdrive.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=9C04249F-1A42-40C6-9752-CDA0C6998EDF This title is available online; click here to access

9780307831484 (electronic bk.)

0307831485 (electronic bk.)

1 online resource (xi, 489 p.)

The many wants of science -- Ennobling and purifying the mind -- The flaws of American physics -- Pure science and practical politics -- Research and reform -- Joining the revolution -- A need for new patrons -- "War should mean research" -- The war work of the physicists -- Cold War in science -- The impact of quantum mechanics -- Popularization and conservatism -- Making the peaks higher -- A new center of physics -- Miraculous year -- Revolt against science -- The New Deal and research -- Recovery in physics -- Organizing for defense -- A physicists' war -- The bomb and postwar research policy -- Victory for elitism -- The physicists established -- New revolt against science -- A degree of disestablishment.

This magnificent account of the coming of age of physics in America has been heralded as the best introduction to the history of science in the United States. Unsurpassed in its breadth and literary style, Kevles's account portrays the brilliant scientists who became a powerful force in bringing the world into a revolutionary new era. The book ranges widely as it links these exciting developments to the social, cultural, and political changes that occurred from the post-Civil War years to the present. Throughout, Kevles keeps his eye on the central question of how an avowedly elitist enterprise grew and prospered in a democratic culture. In this new edition, the author has brought the story up to date by providing an extensive, authoritative, and colorful account of the Superconducting Super Collider, from its origins in the international competition and intellectual needs of high-energy particle physics, through its establishment as a multibillion-dollar project, to its termination, in 1993, as a result of angry opposition within the American physics community and the Congress.

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