Starting in the 1950s, US physicists dominated the search for elementary particles; aided by the association of this research with national security, they held this position for decades. In an effort to maintain their hegemony and track down the elusive Higgs boson, they convinced President Reagan and Congress to support construction of the multibillion-dollar Superconducting Super Collider project in Texas—the largest basic-science project ever attempted. But after the Cold War ended and the estimated SSC cost surpassed ten billion dollars, Congress terminated the project in October 1993. Drawing on extensive archival research, contemporaneous press accounts, and over one hundred interviews with scientists, engineers, government officials, and others involved, Tunnel Visions tells the riveting story of the aborted SSC project. The authors examine the complex, interrelated causes for its demise, including problems of large-project management, continuing cost overruns, and lack of foreign contributions. In doing so, they ask whether Big Science has become too large and expensive, including whether academic scientists and their government overseers can effectively manage such an enormous undertaking.

Tunnel Visions: The Rise and Fall of the Superconducting Super Collider

History

Hoddeson, Lillian

Riordan, Michael

Kolb, Adrienne W.

Americas

University of Chicago Press

Starting in the 1950s, US physicists dominated the search for elementary particles; aided by the association of this research with national security, they held this position for decades. In an effort to maintain their hegemony and track down the elusive Higgs boson, they convinced President Reagan and Congress to support construction of the multibillion-dollar Superconducting Super Collider project in Texas—the largest basic-science project ever attempted. But after the Cold War ended and the estimated SSC cost surpassed ten billion dollars, Congress terminated the project in October 1993.  Drawing on extensive archival research, contemporaneous press accounts, and over one hundred interviews with scientists, engineers, government officials, and others involved, Tunnel Visions tells the riveting story of the aborted SSC project. The authors examine the complex, interrelated causes for its demise, including problems of large-project management, continuing cost overruns, and lack of foreign contributions. In doing so, they ask whether Big Science has become too large and expensive, including whether academic scientists and their government overseers can effectively manage such an enormous undertaking.

Focuses on the human factors behind the invention of the twentieth century's defining artifact, the transistor, highlighting the pride, jealousy, and scientific ambitions of the Bell Labs team who spawned the epoch-making technology.

Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age (Sloan Technology Series)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

"Without the invention of the transistor, I'm quite sure that the PC would not exist as we know it today."―Bill Gates On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of germanium. The power flowing from the germanium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned, but the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions possible has not been fully told until now. Crystal Fire fills this gap and carries the story forward. William Shockley, Bell Labs' team leader and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with Brattain and Bardeen for the discovery, grew obsessed with the transistor and went on to become the father of Silicon Valley. Here is a deeply human story about the process of invention ― including the competition and economic aspirations involved ― all part of the greatest technological explosion in history. The intriguing history of the transistor ― its inventors, physics, and stunning impact on society and the economy ― unfolds here in a richly told tale."―Science News "Thoroughly accessible to lay readers as well as the techno-savvy. . . . [A] fine book."―Publishers Weekly Illustrated

Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (Sloan Technology Series)

W.W.Norton&Company

Shows how modern physicists, with the aid of powerful particle chambers, were able to establish the existence of the quark, the particle inside the proton and neutron components of the atom's nucleus

The Hunting of the Quark: A True Story of Modern Physics (Touchstone Book)

Science & Math

Physics

Touchstone Books

Shows how modern physicists, with the aid of powerful particle chambers, were able to establish the existence of the quark, the particle inside the proton and neutron components of the atom's nucleus

Simon&Schuster

Explores recent research into dark matter and its impact on the composition of the universe and the motions of galaxies, and describes efforts to determine what dark matter might be

Shadows of Creation: Dark Matter and the Structure of the Universe

Schramm, David N.

W.H.Freeman & Co.

The Shadows of Creation: Dark Matter and the Structure of the Universe

Astronomy & Space Science

On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of the metalloid geranium. The power flowing from the geranium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned. This is the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions possible. William Shockley, Bell Labs' team leader and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with Brattain and Bardeen for the discovery, grew obsessed with the transistor and went on to become the father of Silicon Valley. The process of invention - including the competition and economic aspirations involved - all part of the greatest technological explosion in history is surveyed here.

Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age

Blackstone Pub

The Day After Midnight: The Effects of Nuclear War

Military

Cheshire Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Riordan, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Riordan, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Riordan, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Tunnel Visions: The Rise and Fall of the Superconducting Super Collider

Tunnel Visions: The Rise and Fall of the Superconducting Super Collider

Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age (Sloan Technology Series)

Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (Sloan Technology Series)

The Hunting of the Quark: A True Story of Modern Physics (Touchstone Book)

The Hunting of the Quark: A True Story of Modern Physics (Touchstone Book)

Shadows of Creation: Dark Matter and the Structure of the Universe

The Shadows of Creation: Dark Matter and the Structure of the Universe

Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age

The Day After Midnight: The Effects of Nuclear War