From science to technology

摘要

June 1946 started off like every other June in Oak Ridge. The Great Smoky Mountains were at their loveliest. Spring was rapidly blending into summer; the dogwood, rhododendron and mountain laurel were in full bloom. One could almost see Disney's baby unicorns and centaurs gamboling through the perfumed meadows. One thing was new: General Leslie Groves had invited industry and the military to send people down to study this new atomic technology via a one-year curriculum hastily put together by the project scientists, and the new "students" were beginning to arrive. The lecture program arranged for them had lots of groundbreaking material, information that had not yet appeared in any textbooks. It was clear that the year would be absorbing and challenging for them. They were a heterogeneous assemblage: self-assured managers, on hand to get a quick overview then return home to start up a nuclear division; eager scientists and engineers, anxious to get a technological jump on their peers; and blase Army officers, for whom this was just another tour of duty. All were there as individuals, but one day a technical report appeared, and then another, and another, all authored by "The Naval Group." Each of these reports summarized the state of knowledge of a single technical aspect of nuclear technology. They were very good.