OVERVIEW
WW II, followed as it was by the US Cold War with the Soviet Union, injected science and engineering into tight alliances with the federal government, research universities, and industrial corporations. The massive outlay of funding and project personnel to produce working atomic weapons changed the course of history, both in terms of putting scientists on a perpetual war footing in terms of funding and research emphases over the next generation, and bringing debates about the moral responsibilities of scientists inteo direct public view. The startling theoretical advances of atomic physics broke open new avenues of investigation about matter and time and space, and the momentous practical applications meant that the larger public was drafted into accounting for how the unprecedented power of science was affecting people's present-day circumstances and future prospects. Primary school children participated in "duck-and-cover" drills meant to "save" them from being in the cross-hairs of nuclear explosio while their parents became nervous about radioactive fallout contaminating such basic foodstuffs as milk. Debates over the social responsibilities of scientists vs. the sanctity of the research lab was one avenue of discussion; how to reform the US educational system to identify young people with scientific talent was another.

INTRODUCTION TO READING AND LEARNING MATERIALS
The reading in our core text provides content and analysis that you will use to build your knowledge base, and that will serve as the basis for your reflective essay that is due at the end of the week. The videos provide background information and context for the lesson and serve as source material for the essay and your pocket exhibit project The questions for your reflective essay are designed to prompt you to assess the material and determine what you find to be most significant and to explain why. The Pocket Exhibit Project allows you to use historical skills to interpret primary source materials, and to create an online site to communicate your research findings.

LIST OF READINGS AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Reading Assignments:

Review Ede & Cormack, Chapters 9 and 10 as you draft Essay #3.

Watch the following background videos:

Inside Einstein’s Mind [53 min]
Uranium: Twisting the Dragon’s Tale
Crash Course History of Science #33: “The Atomic Bomb” [12 min]

Watch this video from the time period:

Duck and Cover [1951 / 10 min]

Watch this animated graphic:

53 years of nuclear testing in 14 minutes

Assignments:

Post Your Pocket Archive Project by 11:59 p.m. at your Adobe Spark site.