History Thursdays: Can Technology Get Out of Hand?

History Thursday did not appear last week, so it will this week!  Remembering history can teach us lessons about the past, what went wrong or right, and help us improve our present and future, let's all remember that next time we go to History listen to a sometimes-boring-balding-man lecturing about past warfare activities or anything of the sorts.

But speaking of warfare, that's where this History Thursday looks back.  The brilliant History Channel reminds us what happened on this day, December 9th in 1950: Harry Gold is sent to prison for his role in atomic espionage.

Before you ask yourself "Harry who???" or "atomic espionage?  Who cares!"  just picture this image in your head...

            (image taken from thesticksblog.com)

Harry Gold was sent to prison for 30 years that day in 1950 for being a courier between British scientist Klaus Fuchs and Soviet agents.  Fuchs allegedly stole top-secret information on the atomic bomb, and his arrest led to a large scale FBI operation into Soviet espionage and the theft of atomic bomb secrets.  Want to read a more complete version of this story?

Historians and scholars can debate that there were many different points in history that started the cold war, but some could evidently point to December 9th, 1950 being THE date.

The Cold War and its historical facts and interpretations isn't what this blog post is about.  Choosing to take a bird's eye view into the larger issue at hand here is questioning whether harnessing the power of the atom and using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes can be achieved.

Here you can read about how nuclear energy produces even more electricity: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf01.html

Can our technology get out of hand?  Can we use nuclear technology solely for its peaceful purposes and not use it to duplicate the image of above that causes so much harm and destruction?

What can we use it for anyway?  A better question is, how can we continue to use it to benefit HUMANS in everyday life?

A detailed and informative read from the CBS Interactive Business Network explains some uses for nuclear technology that helps us understand just how crucial and important it is to every day life:

1. Sterilizing Medical Equipment - you know, surgical gloves used during surgery and bandages to wrap up your sore ankle

2. Drug testing - no no no, not the kind you can find on college campuses.  According to the article linked, 80 percent of new drugs approved by the FDA for medical use in the US is in part thankful to the radiation developed by nuclear technology

3. Diagnostic techniques - from the invention of x-rays to the radioisotopes that allow medical specialists to see specific biochemical functions in the body.  Heard of the SPECT scan (single photon emission computed tomography) that can help detect cancer cells?

OK, enough medical uses.

4. Material Products - Chemical reactions of certain materials and a slight exposure to radiation help create "heat-shrinking" products which can be used in the packaging industries.  Radiation also changes the molecular structure of materials which allow them to absorb ample amounts of liquid and products that rely on this process include disposable diapers for the little ones and air fresheners used for that terrible smell you in the kitchen you think comes from the fridge that will never go away.

5. Wear Contact Lenses?  The article states that the saline solution used to clean contact lenses is sterilized by gamma radiation.

The list goes on and on and on, but remember to read it and find out more about it!

So what do you say folks?  nuclear tech for peace or nuclear weapons for war?  It might just be an opinion poll down the road.