Rockets, Reactors, and Computers Define the Twentieth Century: A Firsthand Look at the Century's Most Pivotal Innovations

by Bradshaw, Charles L.

• ISBN13: 9781577363965
• ISBN10: 1577363965
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Providence House Pub

Summary

The midtwentieth century exploded with innovation and invention, introducing space exploration, nuclear power, and computers. In Rockets, Reactors, and Computers Define the Twentieth Century, Charles L. Bradshaw recalls his days as a rocket scientist and computer pioneer working with world-renowned scientific geniuses. Successfully mixing anecdotal and technical information, he recalls with vivid detail the space race, the birth of the atomic bomb, and the evolution of the modern computer.Bradshaw provides a personal glimpse into legendary events and figures such as Wernher von Braun and his team of expatriate German rocket scientists; the employment of the Redstone missile to launch the first U.S. satellite into space; and the birth and growth of the computer industry. With intimate insight, Bradshaw not only engages the reader with his fascinating memoir, but explains the mathematics and science behind important historical events in modern science.

Author Biography

Originally from Mascot (Knox county), Tennessee, Charles L. Bradshaw served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant during World War II. He was a member of the mathematics panel at Oak Ridge in the 1950s, the branch chief in the Computation Laboratory of ABMA-NASA, the deputy director of the Computation Laboratory of MSFC-NASA, and director of the Computation Center at Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Loyce, reside in Lebanon, TN.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Prologue	p. 1
From Tennessee Central to the Big Spring	p. 5
How I Became a Rocket Scientist	p. 15
An Early Computation Unit	p. 41
Dr. Helmut Hoelzer: Lifetime Friend and Advisor	p. 61
First Launch of the Redstone Missile	p. 83
What Came Before: History of the Atomic Bomb	p. 93
Oak Ridge and the Oracle	p. 127
Chuck Hubbard: A Good Buddy	p. 145
An Early Nuclear Computer Code	p. 149
Searching for a PhD	p. 159
Army Ballistic Missile Agency	p. 165
Challenges and Growth in the Computer Field	p. 181
The Race Is On: From Jupiter-C to Explorer 1	p. 197
The Solid-state Revolution	p. 211
IBM and the Seven Dwarfs	p. 225
Who Invented the Computer?	p. 235
From Versailles to the Moon Shot	p. 241
The Spiral from Vital to Expendable	p. 251
Epilogue	p. 263
Bibliography	p. 281
Index	p. 283
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