Outline of Big Science

Short description: Overview of and topical guide to Big Science

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Big Science.

Big Science – term used by scientists and historians of science to describe a series of changes in science which occurred in industrial nations during and after World War II.

Essence of Big Science

• Basic research
• Big budgets - Research funding by governments. For example, see Federal grant.
• Big projects (with big staffs) - Genome Project, NASA, CERN etc.
• Big machines - Cyclotron, Space shuttle, ISS, Very Large Array, etc.
• Big laboratories - Bell Labs, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, PARC, SAP Labs, etc.

Areas of Big Science

• Military science and military technology
  • Manhattan Project
• Physics
  • Shiva laser → Nova laser → National Ignition Facility
  • Extreme Light Infrastructure
• Space exploration
• Life sciences
  • Human Genome Project
  • Human Brain Project
• Particle Physics (ex: Large Hadron Collider)
• Astronomy (ex: Hubble Space Telescope, other Great Observatories)
  • Gravitational-wave astronomy

History of Big Science

• Technology during World War II
• Cold War
• Nuclear arms race
• Space race
• Military funding of science

See also

• Outline of science
  • Outline of natural science
    • Outline of physical science
      • Outline of earth science
  • Outline of formal science
  • Outline of social science
  • Outline of applied science