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Books > Professional & Technical > Other technologies > Military engineering
Originally published in 1937, this book provides an authentic sketch of the history of English gun production, from their first use in the fourteenth century down to the time of Marlborough's campaigns during the early part of the eighteenth century. At the time of publication there had been relatively few historical analyses of gun foundering, the preference being to examine their use in battle. This book was useful in terms of giving readers a collection of facts relating to the subject and outlining a little-known branch of military history. It remains a fascinating document, containing numerous illustrations, that will be of value anyone with an interest in English history and the development of guns.
"Engineering the Revolution "documents the forging of a new relationship between technology and politics in Revolutionary France, and the inauguration of a distinctively modern form of the "technological life." Here, Ken Alder rewrites the history of the eighteenth century as the total history of one particular artifact--the gun--by offering a novel and historical account of how material artifacts emerge as the outcome of political struggle. By expanding the "political" to include conflict over material objects, this volume rethinks the nature of engineering rationality, the origins of mass production, the rise of meritocracy, and our interpretation of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
This 1993 volume is a lucid and accurate history of the technical research that led to the first atomic bombs. The authors explore how the 'critical assembly' of scientists, engineers and military personnel at Los Alamos, responding to wartime deadlines, collaborated to create a new approach to large-scale research. The book opens with an introduction laying out major themes. After a synopsis of the prehistory of the bomb project, from the discovery of nuclear fission to the start of the Manhattan Engineer District, and an overview of the early materials programme, the book examines the establishment of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the implosion and gun assembly programmes, nuclear physics research, chemistry and metallurgy, explosives, uranium and plutonium development, confirmation of spontaneous fission in pile-produced plutonium, the thermonuclear bomb, critical assemblies, the Trinity test, and delivery of the combat weapons. Readers interested in history of science will find this volume a crucial resource for understanding the underpinnings of contemporary science and technology.
Over the past decade, new cutting-edge technologies have drastically changed the way radar and electronic warfare systems are implemented. This extensively revised and expanded edition of an Artech House bestseller delivers the most up-to-date overview of electronic defense systems. Bringing practitioners up-to-speed with the latest technological advances, the Third Edition details a completely new method of implementing these modern systems. Moreover, this edition is packed with updated illustrations of key assets, including aircraft, ships, and radars. Readers get a solid understanding of how sophisticated electronic warfare weapon systems work, and how these weapons can be intercepted and electronically jammed. From search and tracking radar, IR systems, and communication systems… to electronic intercept systems, countermeasures, and counter-countermeasures, the book explores a broad spectrum of defense equipment. It explains how these systems operate, the advantages and drawbacks of each system, and the theories on which these systems are based. This authoritative resource includes 180 illustrations and 400 equations that support key topics throughout the book.
Edited and compiled by Emmy Award winning historian Bob Carruthers this is the compendium edition featuring five complete reprints from the series entitled 'Hitler's War Machine.' Comprising a varied range of materials drawn from original writings covering the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of the Panzers in action, this single volume edition is designed to provide the well-read and knowledgeable reader with an interesting compilation of primary sources combined with the best of what is in the public domain to build a comprehensive picture of the tanks and the men who fought in them. Featured here are wartime intelligence reports which contain an intriguing series of contemporary articles on weapons and tactics. Many of the articles are written in, what was then, the present tense and they produce a unique a sense of what was happening at the face of battle as events unfolded.
The Maginot Line was one of the most advanced networks of fortifications in history. Built in the aftermath of World War I, and stretching along the French eastern border from Belgium to Switzerland, it was designed to prevent German troops from ever setting foot on French soil again. Its primary defensive weapons were the gun turrets. Beginning development in the 1870s and improving on German designs, they were constructed out of steel wedges and could revolve and disappear from sight after firing, making them impervious to enemy bombardment. They were deadly accurate and created havoc on the German units that attacked the line during their invasion of France in 1940. This fully illustrated study will examine the technical details of the French artillery turrets. It will show the evolution of the design of the guns and turrets used in the French forts before and during World War I, then those built exclusively for the Maginot Line to give a comprehensive overview of the weapons designed to protect France from invasion.
Developed to replace the UH-1 Iroquis, Sikorsky 's UH-60 Black Hawk first entered service in 1979. A four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter, the UH-60 serves as the U.S. Army 's primary tactical transport helicopter. Modified versions include models for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and specialized versions including the UH-60C (modified for Command and Control missions), EH-60A (electronic systems operations and electronic warfare), and the UH-60Q (medical transport). Two major variants of the Black Hawk currently exist: the UH-60L and UH-60M. The UH-60L incorporates improvements to the basic design that provide more power and lifting capability, as well as automatic flight control. The newer UH-60M features upgraded engines, improved rotor blades, and state-of-the-art flight controls that will allow the helicopter 's service life to extend to 2020 and beyond. Over 2500 Black Hawks have been built, and nearly 1000 more are currently on order. Black Hawks have seen combat service for the U.S. Military in Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Other nations also employ the UH-60 including Brazil, Colombia, Israel, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and Turkey. Created by Sikorsky and the U.S. Army, this pilot 's flight operating manual profiles the UH-60Q Black Hawk. Over 500 pages long, this unclassified document is reprinted here in its entirety.
"riveting and comprehensive, encompassing every aspect of the rise
of military robotics." --"Financial Times"
This volume is the first comprehensive analysis of a number of on-site test inspections which have been conducted in the chemical industry. These inspections were conducted in order to design and test the verification mechanisms for a future international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Conclusions are drawn from these experiences about the manner in which such inspection could be conducted in future, problems encountered in the inspection process are described, and suggestions are made how the verification system of the CWC might be finalized so as to function most efficiently. Information is also presented which will broaden understanding of how such inspections will be conducted, what their limits will be and how the concerns of the chemical industry can be addressed. This book is intended for professionals, teachers, and students concerned with strategic studies, peace studies, and international relations consultants, policy-makers, and journalists specializing in these areas.
Banning Chemical Weapons is a readable account of the science and technology involved in attempting to achieve an enforceable international ban on chemical weapons. If such a ban is negotiated, it will be the first effective treaty of its kind, surpassing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Biological Weapons Convention. The layman should have a grasp of the basic science of chemical warfare and defense to understand the intricacies of the negotiation and drafting of such a treaty. A successful and socially desirable treaty will have contributions from many quarters--from politicians, diplomats, jurists, and scientists.
Trinity, the debut graphic book by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, depicts the dramatic history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb in World War Two―with a focus on the brilliant, enigmatic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. This sweeping historical narrative traces the spark of invention from the laboratories of nineteenth-century Europe to the massive industrial and scientific efforts of the Manhattan Project, and even transports the reader into a nuclear reaction―into the splitting atoms themselves. The power of the atom was harnessed in a top-secret government compound in Los Alamos, New Mexico, by a group of brilliant scientists led by the enigmatic wunderkind J. Robert Oppenheimer. Focused from the start on the monumentally difficult task of building an atomic weapon, these men and women soon began to wrestle with the moral implications of actually succeeding. When they detonated the first bomb at a test site code-named Trinity, they recognized that they had irreversibly thrust the world into a new and terrifying age. With powerful renderings of WWII's catastrophic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fetter-Vorm unflinchingly chronicles the far-reaching political, environmental, and psychological effects of this new invention. Informative and thought-provoking, Trinity is the ideal introduction to one of the most significant events in history.
What happens when competing assertions of validity collide? This question stands at the center of 22 projects being undertaken in various fields as part of the interdisciplinary research project Transcendence and Shared Meaning. Drawing on empirical examples, the contributions show how transcendence is founded or, alternatively, challenged."
The book is a balanced analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Taylorism, including the naivete that led its proponents to ignore the emotional side of the complex roles and patterns that govern the world of work. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Historian Alfred W. Crosby looks at hard, accurate throwing and the manipulation of fire as unique human capabilities. Humans began throwing rocks in prehistory and then progressed to javelins, atlatls, bows and arrows. We learned to make fire by friction and used it to cook, drive game, burn out rivals, and alter landscapes. In historic times we invented catapults, trebuchets, and such flammable liquids as Greek Fire. About 1,000 years ago we invented gunpowder, which accelerated the rise of empires and the advance of European imperialism. In the 20th century, gunpowder weaponry enabled us to wage the most destructive wars of all time, peaking at the end of World War II with the V-2 and atomic bomb. Today, we have turned our projectile talents to space travel which may make it possible for our species to migrate to other bodies of our solar system and even other star systems.
The book is a balanced analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Taylorism, including the naivet_ that led its proponents to ignore the emotional side of the complex roles and patterns that govern the world of work. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
In Throwing Fire, historian Alfred W. Crosby looks at hard, accurate throwing and the manipulation of fire as unique human capabilities. Humans began throwing rocks in prehistory and then progressed to javelins, atlatls, bows and arrows. We learned to make fire by friction and used it to cook, drive game, burn out rivals, and alter landscapes to our liking. Our exploitation of these two capabilities figured in the extinction of many species, and may have played a role in the demise of Neanderthals. In historic times we invented catapults, trebuchets, and such flammable liquids as Greek Fire, a napalm-like substance that stuck to whatever it hit and could not be extinguished with water. About 1,000 years ago we invented gunpowder, which led to guns and rockets, enabling us to literally throw fire. Gunpowder weaponry accelerated the rise of empires and the advance of European imperialism. In the 20th century, gunpowder weaponry enabled us to achieve unprecedented mayhem--the most destructive wars of all time. This trend peaked at the end of World War II with the V-2 and atomic bomb, at which point species suicide became possible. Faced with possible extinction should we experience World War III, we have turned our projectile talents to space travel which may make it possible for our species to migrate to other bodies of our solar system and even other star systems. Alfred W. Crosby is the author of the widely popular and ground-breaking books The Measure of Reality (Cambridge, 1996), America's Forgotten Pandemic (Cambridge, 1990) and Ecological Imperialism (Cambridge, 1986). He taught at the University of Texas, Austin for over 20 years. His books have received the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, the Medical Writers Association Prize and been named by the Los Angeles Times as among the best books of the year.
"The Hand Grenade" is the dramatic story, covering its origins,
development, use - in the World Wars and into the present day - and
lasting influence on close-quarter combat and infantry tactics.
Technē’s Paradox—a frequent theme in science fiction—is the commonplace belief that technology has both the potential to annihilate humanity and to preserve it. Advocating Weapons, War, and Terrorism looks at how this paradox applies to some of the most dangerous of technologies: population bombs, dynamite bombs, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, and improvised explosive devices. Hill’s study analyzes the rhetoric used to promote such weapons in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By examining Thomas R. Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population, the courtroom address of accused Haymarket bomber August Spies, the army textbook Chemical Warfare by Major General Amos A. Fries and Clarence J. West, the life and letters of Manhattan Project physicist Leo Szilard, and the writings of Ted “Unabomber” Kaczynski, Hill shows how contemporary societies are equipped with abundant rhetorical means to describe and debate the extreme capacities of weapons to both destroy and protect. The book takes a middle-way approach between language and materialism that combines traditional rhetorical criticism of texts with analyses of the persuasive force of weapons themselves, as objects, irrespective of human intervention. Advocating Weapons, War, and Terrorism is the first study of its kind, revealing how the combination of weapons and rhetoric facilitated the magnitude of killing in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and illuminating how humanity understands and acts upon its propensity for violence. This book will be invaluable for scholars of rhetoric, scholars of science and technology, and the study of warfare.
The paradox of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia The Obama administration's pivot-to-Asia policy establishes an important place for Southeast Asia in U.S. foreign policy. But Washington's attention to the region has fluctuated dramatically, from the intense intervention of the cold war era to near neglect in more recent years. As a consequence, countries in Southeast Asia worry that the United States once again will become distracted by other problems and disengage from the region. This book written by an astute observer of the region and U.S. policy casts light on the sources of these anxieties. A main consideration is that it still is not clear how Southeast Asia fits into U.S. strategy for Asia and the broader world. Is the region central to U.S. policymaking, or an afterthought? Ambivalent Engagement highlights a dilemma that is becoming increasingly conspicuous and problematic. Southeast Asia continues to rely on the United States to play an active role in the region even though it is an external power. But the countries of Southeast Asia have very different views about precisely what role the United States should play. The consequences of this ambivalence will grow in importance with the expanding role of yet another outside power, China.
In Minefield six Falklands/Malvinas war veterans who once faced each other across a battlefield now face each other across a stage. Together they share memories, films, songs and photos as they recall their collective war and embody the political figures that led them into it. Soldier, veteran, human – these men have stories to share as they take us from the horrors of war to today’s uncertainties, with brutal honesty and startling humour.
America's new allies in Central and Eastern Europe have been struggling with defense reform since the end of the Cold War. Only recently since the Orange Revolution has Ukraine's national political and military leadership seriously engaged the process of radical and comprehensive defense reform. This monograph applies the various roadmaps for reform developed in the postcommunist states of Central European states to the emerging Ukrainian case. The author draws upon this mixed picture to suggest a framework focused on key areas in need of reform as well as key conditions that facilitate the achievement of reform objectives. The result is a richly developed monograph revealing Ukraine's main strengths as well as obstacles limiting the improvement of its military capabilities. Ukraine's interests in the East and West, along with the reality of its divided society, shape the outcomes to date and constrain the future of its Euro-Atlantic orientation.
Former secretary of defense Leon Panetta once described cyber warfare as "the most serious threat in the twenty-first century," capable of destroying our entire infrastructure and crippling the nation. Already, major cyber attacks have affected countries around the world: Estonia in 2007, Georgia in 2008, Iran in 2010, and most recently the United States. As with other methods of war, cyber technology can be used not only against military forces and facilities but also against civilian targets. Information technology has enabled a new method of warfare that is proving extremely difficult to combat, let alone defeat. And yet cyber warfare is still in its infancy, with innumerable possibilities and contingencies for how such conflicts may play out in the coming decades. Brian M. Mazanec examines the worldwide development of constraining norms for cyber war and predicts how those norms will unfold in the future. Employing case studies of other emerging-technology weapons-chemical and biological, strategic bombing, and nuclear weaponry-Mazanec expands previous understandings of norm-evolution theory, offering recommendations for U.S. policymakers and citizens alike as they grapple with the reality of cyber terrorism in our own backyard. |
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