Nuclear Science and Technology: The Race Between Weapons and Controls

Abstract

The revolution in physics in the early twentieth century was utilized before its mid-point to develop revolutionary weapons of extraordinary power, following a path that has been repeated again and again in history with other scientific advances. The peaceful and military uses of the atom were seen as “Siamese twins” or as “Janus headed,” which meant that not only the proliferation threat emanating from dedicated weapon programs in states, but also that of the misuse of civil programs by states, needed to be addressed. Nuclear science and technology was developed in wartime for military purposes, but since the dawn of the nuclear age, its civil possibilities were foreseen, and its dual nature was present in policy makers’ and academics’ minds. The dual-use nature of the technology, and the high technological hurdles to its development at the outset of the nuclear age led to predominantly supply-side approaches such as export controls to deal with the risks of proliferation. While this focus has persisted, it has evolved over the decades in response to experience and today is complemented by growing attention to the demand side. From this perspective, the history of nuclear energy, the past history and current and future prospects of nuclear proliferation and the development of the nonproliferation regime, can be seen as elements of a race between nuclear technology diffusion on the one hand and technological and institutional efforts to combat proliferation on the other. This paper explores the military influences that shaped the earliest applications of nuclear science and technology, the promise of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes that highlighted the dual nature of the atom and the long standing efforts and debates over the control of this revolutionary science and technology.