KICKING THE SECRECY HABIT
Teller, Edward A.
Kicking the secrecy habit May 27, 1973 The harnessing of energy from controlled nuclear fusion is one of those elusive scientific developments that, when finally achieved, promises immense benefits...
...In my opinion there is no strong reason...
...It weakens our defense potential and it slows down the peaceful applications that have accompanied almost every scientific military achievement...
...This can be answered in two ways...
...A false sense of "security" that is engendered by secrecy has misled many people...
...At the seventh international Quantum Electronics Conference in Montreal last year [1972] an exciting (though distant) possibility was discussed openly: the production of fusion by concentrating laser light on extremely small droplets of a liquid deuterium-tritium mixture...
...The subject has engaged the attention of scientists the world over...
...For them the choice is not so difficult...
...In considerable part, however, the work had been carried on in secrecy...
...Unfortunately, secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction — it is difficult to kick the habit...
...This particular aspect of the controlled fusion quest — using a laser — was opened to discussion in Montreal by the Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Classification...
...the research is secret, but in the Russian society so is almost everything else...
...Such a proposal will understandably arouse concern that we would be "giving away" all the hard-won achievements of our scientists to other countries, including countries that might use our discoveries against us...
...They are at least as well-funded as our own...
...In contrast, when each country works in secrecy, these vital benefits of sharing are lost as isolated laboratories must struggle for breakthroughs that may have already been achieved in another place...
...But even among the Russians, one detects a yearning to open up...
...If we pioneer in opening up our scientific achievements, I believe the Soviet scientists will attempt to reciprocate...
...Edward Teller The New York Times (Edward Teller is the nuclear physicist who directed the development of the hydrogen bomb...
...This is why I urge the United States to move from that small step in Montreal toward unilaterally abandoning all forms of scientific and technical secrecy...
...Right now, the most hopeful model for a future fusion reactor, the Tokamak, has a Russian origin and a Russian name...
...This was a great stimulus to worldwide research...
...New discoveries in one country have been the building blocks for further advancements in another...
...Kicking the secrecy habit May 27, 1973 The harnessing of energy from controlled nuclear fusion is one of those elusive scientific developments that, when finally achieved, promises immense benefits to all of mankind...
...Actually I am convinced secrecy is the enemy of scientific and technical progress all over the world, and violates the best traditions of the open society of our country...
...If the energy problem should be solved in this promising manner, we shall certainly owe a debt of gratitude to our colleagues in the Soviet Union...
...Sometimes they are under pressure to contribute, but they are also lured by prestige and money...
...In contrast to the situation in the United States, Soviet scientists are less reluctant to participate in military research...
...First, in science there are very few real secrets...
...Even in their closed society they may succeed — given patience and time...
...It is only by adopting a policy of openness that our research can be strong, our country can be secure, and we can make a meaningful approach toward international understanding and peace...
...I advocate this in the enlightened self-interest of the United States...
...Soviet investigations were carried out in the open...
...Let us open up and make our achievements available to all our people and to the world...
...Ironically, secrecy even prevents us from working with our allies...
...I assume the French and the British probably know many of our secrets...
...many of the best American scientists do not lend their talents to secret, defense-oriented research...
...Why not similarly open up the possibilities with lasers...
...Why in secrecy...
...This hurts us double...
...Second, and equally important, is the long-term effect of secrecy on scientific progress, especially in the United States...
...The Russians, I venture to guess, know most of our secrets including quite a few that we haven't even discovered as yet...
...The effect of secrecy on our defense is particularly questionable because openness is a deeply rooted academic tradition...
...In 1958 after some remarkable partial disclosures by the great Soviet physicist Igor E. Kurchatov, we finally opened up research on controlled fusion as it was carried out with plasmas confined by magnetic fields...
...For a couple of centuries the discoveries of science have generally been shared without respect to international boundaries...
Vol. 43 • May 1979 • No. 5
