Contents
Foreword
Introduction
1. Warfare in Ancient Times
2. The Advent of Metal Weapons
3. The Advent of Chemical Explosives
4. Steam Power enters the Scene
5. Effect of Industrialization on Warfare
6. Effect of Communication Advances on Warfare
7. The Internal Combustion Engine and Warfare
8. A Third Dimension to Warfare
9. Rocket : The Ultimate Weapon Carrier
10. Electronic Revolution and Warfare
11. Nuclear Energy and Warfare
12. Past Impacts and Future Trends in Warfare
Foreword
My former colleague, Prof. K.V. Gopalakrishnan, has had a sustained interest in the impact of science and technology on society as well as in the biographies of eminent scientists and engineers, in addition to being a highly regarded research worker in the area of internal combustion engines. It is, therefore, my pleasure to write a foreword for this book of his.
History textbooks often highlight wars and the heroic deeds of human beings in warfare much more than the silent and impressive progress of a civilization during times of peace. The dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki created in its wake a dilemma in the minds of scientists and technologists on the pursuit and possible misuse of research findings by an immature society. Historians hope that every time a weapon of increased destruction is made, it would prove to be a deterrent to further warfare. Recent events, however, make it abundantly clear that the very survival of a civilization rests precariously in the hands of leaders who lack the maturity and compassion that ought to go hand in hand with their countries' unprecedented powers of destruction.
Prof. Gopalakrishnan has done a remarkable job of tracing the history and the impact of science and technology in warfare. He traces the effects of the industrial revolution and the information and communication revolutions on warfare. He discusses the capacity of the media with its penchant for sensational and intense propaganda to create in the minds of people inhabiting the warring nation’s unprecedented hatred for one another. He describes the psychological effects of such warfare as well as the consequent moral and nervous exhaustion of the human mind. At the same time he aptly reminds the reader that "no great force is entirely beneficial or entirely harmful and the impact of science and technology on war is no exception." He points to the remarkable discoveries in medicine, in rocketry and in satellite communication that have helped human civilization in an unprecedented manner, as a consequence of research carried out under the pressure of warfare.
This book should be of interest to all readers, and particularly to students of science and technology. It will help to obtain a useful perspective on the important role that they have to play in the world to improve and become one that nurtures civilization and accelerates the ascent of man. This book should be a part of all school and college libraries in our country.