Science of destruction .. How wars contributed to the development of science and technology

Hafsa Alami

The history of mankind has witnessed tragic and catastrophic wars that have claimed many lives. Range to medical and other discoveries.

Evolution of Medicine
Doctors, surgeons and nurses were heavily recruited in World War I and in difficult circumstances, and deformities, amputations in large numbers, Spanish flu and venereal diseases posed significant challenges to them.

Belgian doctor Antoine Dibaj developed the anesthesia during the war and must remove the infected meat first in order to heal the wound, and this technique included cutting tissue to avoid infection before closing the wound.

Blood transfusions were first used in 1913, and the first blood bank was established in 1917 by American physician Captain Oswald Robertson.

Mustard gas was used to reduce the number of white blood cells, causing blisters, internal bleeding, and damage to the respiratory system and eyes.

Later, it turned out to scientists that it could help kill fast-growing cancerous white blood cells. This gas led to the discovery of Mustline, or chloromentine, the first chemotherapy drug.

Radar
While scientists around the world were using radio antennas to detect distant objects in the early part of the 20th century, Robert Watson-Watt invented the first practical radar in 1935. The British Ministry of Aviation approved its design and used it during the early days of World War II.

The discovery prompted the United States to invest in research for new ways to confuse radar, with the result of stealth aircraft technology. The radar was the invention of the microwave oven.

Space Race
Another example of how the war has affected technological development is the space race between the United States and what was then the Soviet Union.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviets successfully launched the first Sputnik satellite into Earth's orbit.

The motives behind the space race may not have been based on the expansion of scientific knowledge, but this does not in any way diminish the achievements of both countries in this area, as they were eventually adapted to serve civil purposes as well.

Internet
The Internet began a military project called "Arpanet" by the US Department of Defense, and was designed to develop technologies and protocols that allow multiple computers to communicate directly together.

Sun lamps
By the winter of 1918, half of Berlin's children were suffering from rickets due to a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphate, which weakened bones.

A doctor in Berlin, Kurt Holdshinsky, put four children under the mercury quartz lamps that emit ultraviolet rays, and the children's bones became stronger and treatment succeeded.