Examples of Politics and Physicists

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores instances where politics and physics research intersected or influenced each other, with a focus on historical examples and their implications. Participants share various cases from different eras, including ancient history and modern conflicts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Historical

Main Points Raised

  • One participant mentions the relationship between Napoleon and physicists Laplace and Poisson as an example of political influence on physics.
  • Another participant highlights the ongoing political controversy surrounding nuclear weapons research after World War II, along with the significance of the Space Race.
  • A different contribution notes the role of Allied mathematicians, such as Turing, in decoding the German Enigma machine during World War II.
  • One participant brings up ancient technologies like chariots and siege equipment, suggesting their political implications in historical contexts.
  • Another participant points out Albert Einstein's fundraising efforts for Israel as a modern example of the intersection between physics and politics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present a variety of examples without a clear consensus on which instances are most significant or relevant, indicating multiple competing views on the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some examples may depend on specific historical interpretations or definitions of what constitutes a direct impact between politics and physics.

d3nat
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(Note: This is probably the wrong place for this, but I wasn't sure where to post this)

What are some examples of when politics and physics research coincided or had strong direct impacts on each other?

For example:
Napoleon and Laplace/Poisson
Catholic church and Galileo
WW2 and the Manhattan Project

I'm just curious for some more examples.

Thanks
 
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Physics research for nuclear weapons continued to be a political controversy for decades after WW2. And there is the Space Race.
 
WW2 Allied mathmeticians like Turing worked on decoding the German Enigma machine.
 
Ancient History, Roman & Medievals:
Chariots, Greek fire, quicklime, missile/siege equipment like catapults, ballistas, trebuchets, mangonels. (I've played a lot of Rome & Medieval Total War :biggrin:).
 
d3nat said:
(Note: This is probably the wrong place for this, but I wasn't sure where to post this)

What are some examples of when politics and physics research coincided or had strong direct impacts on each other?

For example:
Napoleon and Laplace/Poisson
Catholic church and Galileo
WW2 and the Manhattan Project

I'm just curious for some more examples.

Thanks

Albert Einstein did a fair amount of fund raising for Israel.
 

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