Science and armed conflict

What’s Happening

Real talk: Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how science and armed conflict have been intertwined throughout history, from the Greeks in 400 B.

To the use of tear gas in the protests across the United States as just as a few months ago. Editors Note Science and armed conflict By Nancy Shute Editor in Chief 7 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Science has been intertwined with armed conflict for centuries. (wild, right?)

The Greek despot Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse is thought to have invented the catapult around 400 B.

The Details

, a technology upgrade that changed the course of battle through medieval times. Alchemists in China invented gunpowder around A.

850; initially used in fireworks, its use in cannons and handheld firearms followed. European forces enlisted hot air balloons for attacks and reconnaissance not long after they were invented in the 18th century.

Why This Matters

And airplanes were key to the course of World War II, including dropping atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. In this issue, we examine the health effects of tear gas, which evolved from being one of the first chemical weapons made for World War I to a tool for civilian crowd control. In a bizarre twist, one of its first uses in the United States was against World War I veterans protesting delays in bonus payments from the federal government.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

Key Takeaways

• For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
• Quantifying that risk has become salient because of the widespread use of tear gas against people protesting U.
• Connections between science and civil protest also resonate in space exploration , astronomy writer Lisa Grossman notes.

The Bottom Line

Connections between science and civil protest also resonate in space exploration , astronomy writer Lisa Grossman notes. In gearing up to cover this year’s Artemis II moon flyby, she imagined the mission as a unifying moment, like the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

What’s your take on this whole situation?