Winston Churchill: champion of science

(Before It's News)

John Hopton for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In the wake of the 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death, we want to illuminate his love of science and the discoveries that helped to win WWII.

It is a sad but undeniable reality that war and the military are great driving forces in scientific development, and World War 2 saw all major powers harnessing their greatest scientific minds to gain an advantage in the war effort. But a new exhibition in London looks at how Winston Churchill’s love of science began well before he became Britain’s wartime leader, and continued long after the war had ended.

The BBC reports that in 1931, years before the atom bomb, Churchill wrote an essay that included a section about the potential of nuclear power.

“If the hydrogen atoms in a pond of water could be prevailed upon to combine together and form helium, they would suffice to drive a thousand horsepower engine for a whole year,” he wrote. “If the electrons, those tiny planets of the atomic systems, were induced to combine with the nuclei in the hydrogen the horsepower liberated would be 120 times greater still. There is no question among scientists that this gigantic source of energy exists.”

Andrew Nahum, curator of the London Science Museum’s exhibition to mark half a century since Churchill’s death, also wants people to know about his commitment to science after the war.

Nahum says that: “In the post-war period he was a great champion of deeper science education in this country. This is a great opportunity for us to bring these stories to the public’s attention as we pay tribute to Sir Winston Churchill in the 50th anniversary year of his death.”

Churchill is more famous for his work as a historian and politician, his powerful wartime leadership, and his wit than for his love of science. Even during the wartime period, while the public was aware of famous scientific advancements that helped to win the war, they were not aware that Churchill was the driving force.

One of the most important technological developments in the war was radar. The first ever radar set is a central part of the exhibition, and it was pioneered by Professor Robert Watson-Watt with Churchill’s firm support. Britain’s greatest defense, the sea, had been negated with the coming of attack aircraft, and Britain came very close to defeat from the German Luftwaffe. Without radar, they might have lost.

Nahum explains that during the early stages of radar research “a pilot was asked to fly in front of a BBC shortwave world transmission aerial. (The scientists) saw a green spot grow on the screen and then disappear.” It showed that the system could be used to give early warning of an air raid. As the aircraft flew by, Professor Watson-Watt turned to his assistant and said: “Britain is an island once more.”

Like many things related to Churchill, his relationship with science was not without ambiguity and controversy. Critics say that Churchill relied excessively on Professor Fredreick Lindemann, one of his chief advisors, when it came to scientific work. Other scientists were said to have been frozen out of the consultation process.

After the war in 1948, Churchill worried about the drawbacks of progress.

“Some of the things we have found are very debatable in terms of advantages,” he said. “Take all the improvements in terms of locomotion. What do they do but make our world grow smaller – make the heritage of Man a far more restricted sphere.”

Given the love of science he had throughout his life, the thought can probably be chalked down to the healthy caution that all scientists have about the potential of their work, while always knowing its vital importance.

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