|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Sponsored by: Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici, Regione Lombardia (Volta's Celebrations), Fondazione Cariplo. |
|
Available historical reconstructions have outlined the main features of the development of Physics in Italy between about 1800 and 1940.
After the second world war, the international context of scientific research appears profoundly changed: the defeat of nazism and fascism and the war damages have favored the passage of the economic and scientific leadership on the other side of the Atlantic; the huge effort by the United States in the production of the fission bomb has shown how efficient can be a research based on a planned mixing of basic, applied research and technology; the shock provoked by the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has again emphasized the necessity of a reflection
about the aims of Science and
its applications. The start of the cold war and the consequent search of new weapons has dramatically increased the interest of governments in the military and peaceful applications of the new technologies and has spurred the development of research programs of unprecedented economic and organizational commitments, often affordable only through international cooperation.
The problems that Italy had to face in order to achieve the scientific and technological background necessary for the country's development were, therefore, complex and difficult: the war damages and the overall weakness of scientific institutions made the task even more arduous. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
