Weapons Scientists Research Articles

МЕСТО И ЗНАЧЕНИЕ КРИМИНАЛИСТИЧЕСКОГО ОРУЖИЕВЕДЕНИЯ В СИСТЕМЕ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ КРИМИНАЛИСТИЧЕСКОЙ НАУКИ

The article is devoted to theoretical and applied principles that reveal the place and significance of forensic weapons science in the system of modern forensic scientific knowledge. The state of its scientific development within the framework of the forensic technology section at the present time is examined. The increased importance of forensic weapons science in the activities of law enforcement agencies in solving and investigating crimes is substantiated. The essential characteristics of foren-sic weapons science in the process of investigative activities are revealed. Promising directions for the development of forensic weapons science in the short term are substantiated.

SYSTEMATIZATION OF THE COLLECTION OF COLD STEEL IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE ALTAI REPUBLIC NAMED AFTER A.V. ANOKHIN

The article for the first time analyzes and scientifically describes the collection of cold steel in the National Museum of the Altai Republic named after A.V. Anokhin. The research was carried out using the methods of reputable Russian historians and archaeologists, art historians, ethnographers, and weapons scientists. The need to study the collection is dictated by the increased public interest in the history of the development of military affairs. According to the results of the study, the labeling of weapons in the stationary exposition was updated, a series of temporary exhibitions using weapons collections at the National Museum named after A.V. Anokhin was prepared. The authors express the hope that the work will arouse great interest among both specialists studying the history of the development of military affairs, armament of the peoples of Siberia, collectors, and a wide range of amateurs interested in the history of weapons.

Composite Manchu-Mongolian bow from the collections of the Ethnographic museum of the peoples of Transbaikalia (Ulan-Ude): on the issue of weapons refit

The subject of the study is a composite Manchu-Mongol bow identified and studied in detail during direct inspection from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia (Ulan-Ude). Based on a study of its morphological and design features, during a comparative analysis with similar products of imported and Buryat production, it was revealed that the item was redesigned during its use. Examples of this kind are quite rare and allow, based on the study of specific products, to draw conclusions about the possible reasons and methods for rearranging weapons to change their characteristics. Analysis of the context of application can significantly complement the understanding of this process. The novelty of the research is associated with the introduction into scientific circulation of a previously unpublished fully preserved composite bow. At the moment, such work is rare in russian weapons science. The analysis of specific weapons is important in the context of studying the military art of the peoples of Siberia and Central Asia, since in order to compile the most correct idea on this issue, a comprehensive study of the entire array of sources is necessary. An important component of the study was the analysis of the redesigned elements, and their interpretation is given. Based on a number of reasons, most likely the owner was trying to adapt the item to stable shooting with lighter arrows and to make it easier to care for. It is possible that some damage was repaired in this way. As a result of the refit the morphology and metrics of the functional zones of the product are closest to composite bows made in Transbaikalia.

Education of Women in Early Vedic Period

Education in ancient India was free from any external control like that of the state or the government or any party politics. It was one of the king’s duties to see that the learned pundits pursued their studies and their duty of imparting knowledge without interference from any source whatever. So, education did not suffer from any communal interest or prejudices in India.” Said by P.N.Prabhu. In earlier times, Hindus considered education as a process of life. The education system for girls and women were favorable and available for them. In Rig Vedic Society, “child marriage did not exist” so the young girls were also able to study and education was given the utmost importance. But with time, the education system has lost its essence and quality in and after the 21st century. With some physical training, sports has also been fully removed and knowledge is forced through books and indoor teaching. This has limited the analytically thinking capacity of the youth that would help one to be more active and alert. This research work will be introducing the major missing aspects of the previous works presented in this field with some suggestions to retrieve it. • Educational status of non-Brahmin women are nowhere mentioned. • Both men and women were well trained in the military art, medicine, the science of weapons and were also trained for war-like situations. Education was only for Brahmans.

НЕКОТОРЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ЛУКОВ В ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОМ ОРУЖИЕВЕДЕНИИ

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problems issue of studying bows in Russian science. The theme has been developed since the end of the 19th century, received further development as a result of the formation of the weapons science direction in the middle of the 20th century. The main interest of specialists so far has been concentrated on the study of bows of the peoples of antiquity, the evolution of their design and modification, which led to the specifics of the source base and the methods used: the main conclusions were made on the basis of the classification of individual parts and not the study of entire structures. This caused the appearance of a large number of heterogeneous contradictory reconstructions, and also created a number of methodological problems. In the works of different specialists, different, contradictory terminology was used, which could not be disclosed in the course of the study. Unity was not achieved in the understanding of individual elements and functional areas, as well as their relationship with specific details. Many schemes for the primary systematization of material were created, in most cases not included in the main classification hierarchy. In addition, when describing the material, questions of the materials used could be omitted. All this could not affect the results of the studies, however, it significantly complicates the understanding of the published material and limits further research. Based on the analysis of the problems, solutions are proposed based on a comprehensive study of the bows of the population of the Baikal region of the 12th–20th centuries, based on the involvement of both archaeological and ethnographic materials. The author’s system of primary systematization reflects the major stages of modifying the design of bows, representing modification by combining materials and creating end levers. The allocation of a new functional area — the transition zone is substantiated. A variant of solving the classification problem is represented by a consistent hierarchical division of type — a set of overlays, variant — their material and design features. Also indicated are the most important points in the study of entire structures, which were not previously considered by specialists, but which are of fundamental importance for understanding objects — metric and morphological indicators, general geometry.

Creative path in science (In memory of Yuliy Sergeyevich Khudyakov)

The article examines the scientific biography of the outstanding Soviet and Russian archaeologist and weapons scientist Yuliy Sergeyevich Khudyakov. The main stages of the scientist's scientific career are highlighted, the key directions of his research in the field of studying the military and cultural heritage of the nomads of Central Asia and Southern Siberia of the Ancient, Medieval and early Modern times are identified. The contribution of Y. S. Khudyakov to the development of domestic weapons science in general and to the development of theoretical foundations for the study of nomads' military affairs in particular is analyzed. The thesis is put forward about the existence of a special "Siberian" school of weapons studies, the founder and leader of which can rightfully be considered Yu. S. Khudyakov. It is established that a distinctive feature of the research of representatives of this scientific school is the application of the complex analytical model of the study of military affairs of nomadic ethnic groups and cultures developed by Yu. S. Khudyakov and the principles of classification of weapons corresponding to this model.

The Ethics of War and War-Making: A Philosophical Interrogation of African Involvement in the World Wars and Their Exclusion From War Monuments and Memorials

Wars are cataclysmic events that inflict horrendous damage on people and society. In the case of the two World Wars whose magnitudes were global, and manners of prosecution total, this assertion pales in logic. The dangers that a future global war could pose for humanity given the tremendous leaps forward in the science and technology of warfare and weapons since the last World War are tremendous. This paper aims to use the examination of the ethics of war and warfare as backdrop on the analytical assessment of the implications of the exclusion of Africans from both the memorial and monuments that honor soldiers and their service in the two World Wars, even though their service and sundry contributions are salient and tremendous. The paper calls up the issue of racial identity in both Wars in puzzles: Do African soldiers in the Wars share a common humanity with their White counterparts? If they do, another puzzle is the following: Why then is their service still being commodified, to the extent of exclusion in memorials and monuments to soldiers that served and died in both Wars? The damning extrapolation from these puzzles is that there is still the belief albeit erroneous, in the establishment circles that regardless of the facts of history about the Wars, Africans are still viewed as lacking in contributions to the resolution of the threats that the World Wars represented to global peace. To reposition that under laying mind-set, the paper recommends the inclusion of African values of complementarity and inclusiveness in the quest for lasting global peace and the prevention of future Wars.

КАТАЛОГИ МУЗЕЙНИХ ЗІБРАНЬ ГАРМАТ XІV–XVIІІ СТОЛІТЬ: СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН В УКРАЇНІ, ПРОБЛЕМИ ПОБУДОВИ

The article analyzes a number of problematic issues that arise when cataloging gun collections, offers possible solutions. The current state of cataloging of weapons in the museums of Ukraine on the example of artillery collections is considered. Possible options for creating and forming catalogs for the integration of artillery history into the modern world scientific information space are proposed.Weapons collections are always especially valuable in the funds, are of great interest to visitors and professional researchers. That is why the problem of professional attribution and interesting presentation of information about the meeting is acute. Over the last decade, modern Ukrainian and European weapons studies have developed a sufficient scientific base, which creates a qualitatively new basis for the information content of weapons catalogs. The article develops recommendations for the structure, content, and information content of the catalog of gun collections. Possible options for presenting information to visitors in electronic form on the museum's website using the latest technologies used by European museums are proposed.Due to the significant growth in the popularization of weapons studies and military history studies both in Ukraine and abroad, modern Ukrainian museums face new challenges related to the introduction of weapons into the professional scientific space.During the Soviet period in the history of Ukraine, under the influence or even pressure of political factors, weapons science as a science did not develop. A small number of works by Ukrainian scientists of that period were published solely due to the enthusiasm and efforts of their authors. The ideological load of Soviet works on the subject created a distorted historical picture of the development of artillery in Ukraine. This state of affairs was reflected in museum expositions, cataloging of collections, which, in their content, should be based on professional research.We believe that modern Ukrainian armaments has accumulated enough historiographical work to fill a striking gap in Ukraine against the general background of world trends.

China’s Robotic Spy Birds Take Surveilance to New Heights

China takes surveillance to new heights with flock of robotic Doves, but do they come in peace? Hi-tech drones that look and move like real birds have already flown over restive Xinjiang region. Beijing Institute of Technology recruits 31 ‘patriotic’ youngsters for new AI weapons development programe. Expert in international science policy describes course as ‘extremely powerful and troubling.’ Also group of some of China’s smartest students have been recruited straight from high school to begin training as the world’s youngest AI weapons scientists. The 27 boys and four girls, all aged 18 and under, were selected for the four-year “experimental programme for intelligent weapons systems” at the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) from more than 5,000 candidates, the school said on its website. The BIT is one of the country’s top weapons research institutes, and the launch of the new programme is evidence of the weight it places on the development of AI technology for military use.

Judicial ballistics in the system of criminalistic knowledge

The criminalistic is a science that is dynamically evolving and changing. This applies, first of all, to the content and system of modern criminalistic knowledge. This applies to the section of criminalistic techniques ballistics. Problems of modern content of ballistics and its place in the system of criminalistic knowledge were considered in the works of such scientists as: V.V. Areshonkov , R.S. Belkin, A.A. Belyakov, V.V. Biryukov , P.D. Bilenchuk , Hans Gross, A.V. Ishchenko , V.V. Kovalenko, A.V. Kofanov , Y. Lantsedova , J. Novak, S. Polishchuk , O.F. Sulyava , V.S. Shapovalova , V. Yu. Shepitko and others. Despite the large number of scientific developments on this issue, it still remains controversial. With this in mind, the aim of our article is to analyze the problematic issues related to the content of ballistics and its place in the system of criminalistic knowledge. The article discusses controversial issues regarding the place of “forensic ballistics” as a section of criminalistic technology in the modern system of criminalistic knowledge. The proposals of scientists regarding the creation of a separate forensic doctrine are highlighted, where knowledge on forensic research of firearms, bladed weapons and explosive devices is combined. Proposals of scientists regarding the name of such a theory have been discovered: “weapons research”, “weapons science”, “forensic weapons science”, and “forensic armology ”. The possibilities of using criminalistic knowledge in the examination of weapons, traces and circumstances of its use within the framework of ballistics are considered. In our opinion, it is inappropriate to combine into a common section of criminology or a separate forensic theory of the study of firearms, melee weapons, explosive devices. As for the latter, there are features of their expert study, which differ from the examination of weapons, traces and circumstances of its use. In addition, in different countries of the world, as well as law, law enforcement and science distinguish between different types of weapons and explosive devices.

The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by C. Bruce Tarter

Reviewed by: The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by C. Bruce Tarter Benjamin Sims (bio) The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory By C. Bruce Tarter. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. Pp. 472. In The American Lab, former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory director C. Bruce Tarter provides a detailed history of the laboratory from its origins in the 1950s through 2009. Tarter has done his homework; this is a carefully researched account, citing many primary sources and oral history interviews. While large portions of the book are devoted to administrative details and quick glosses on a plethora of minor projects likely to interest insiders, it nonetheless provides a useful record of an important and understudied institution (Livermore) and time (the late- and post-Cold War periods). While Tarter's early history of the laboratory is comprehensive, the book really comes to life with his account of the political and technical maneuvering that enabled the weapons laboratories to continue to thrive under the rubric of stockpile stewardship following the end of the Cold War. His observations on the transition of nuclear weapons work to a routine and bureaucratic enterprise and the cultural differences between Livermore and Los Alamos laboratories also illuminate the changing roles and influence of these two laboratories between the Cold War era and the present. Tarter characterizes the relationship between the laboratories as one between an older, established, conservative institution (Los Alamos) and a brash start-up company eager to innovate and make a name for itself (Livermore). Unlike Los Alamos, which emerged out of urgent efforts at a time of national emergency, Livermore's existence was the result of hard-fought [End Page 1238] political and technical battles going back to its main founders, E.O. Lawrence and Edward Teller. In Tarter's account, Livermore was a driver of innovation through the 1960s and 1970s and quickly staked its claim in the nuclear weapons business as an equal partner with Los Alamos, which was largely content to work within existing constraints. Livermore continued to display greater willingness than Los Alamos to engage in political and technical maneuvering to push new and risky projects and concepts, even where technical feasibility had not quite been established. Although this strategy enabled the laboratory to grow, in some cases it led to technical and administrative difficulties. It also contributed to the laboratory's reputation for actively pushing a militaristic, "hardline, anticommunist point of view" that led to public criticism—particularly in relation to missile defense. Tarter led Livermore from 1994 through 2002, a time period that encompasses the core of the difficult transition of the United States nuclear weapons complex from a Cold War footing, focused on development and testing of nuclear weapons, to a post-Cold War era of diversifying missions and increased bureaucratic oversight. The American Lab provides an engaging account of this period, partly from Tarter's own perspective. It also highlights the role of Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Programs Vic Reis in the development of the Stockpile Stewardship Program, which enabled the weapons laboratories to survive and even prosper after the Cold War. Although Tarter covers many of the other players, Reis appears as an energetic and charismatic force who broke the laboratories' post-Cold War sense of malaise, encouraged new ideas, and laid the groundwork for the future. Tarter might have written a more focused and accessible (if less comprehensive) book had he chosen to cover this period in detail rather than the entire history of the laboratory. Much of the scholarly work on the nuclear weapons laboratories in the post-Cold War period has been by sociologists and anthropologists, including Donald MacKenzie and Graham Spinardi, Hugh Gusterson, Joseph Masco, Laura McNamara, and the author of this review in collaboration with Christopher Henke. Gusterson's work is particularly relevant here because of its focus on Livermore scientists. While these authors cover key events and delve deeply into the mindset and experiences of weapons scientists, they do not provide a comprehensive institutional perspective or historical timeline for the weapons laboratories. The collection Doomed to Cooperate, compiled by Siegfried Hecker, Tarter's...

Language and End Time (Sections I, IV and V of ‘Sprache und Endzeit’)

‘Language and End Time’ is a translation of Sections I, IV and V of ‘Sprache und Endzeit’, a substantial essay by Günther Anders that was published in eight instalments in the Austrian journal FORVM from 1989 to 1991 (the full essay consists of 38 sections). The original essay was planned for inclusion in the third (unrealised) volume of The Obsolescence of Human Beings. ‘Language and End Time’ builds on the diagnosis of ‘our blindness toward the apocalypse’ that was advanced in the first volume of The Obsolescence in 1956. The essay asks if there is a language that is capable of making us fully comprehend the looming ‘man-made apocalypse’. In response to this, it offers a critique of philosophical jargon and of the putatively ‘objective’ language of (nuclear) science, which are both dismissed as unsuitable. Sections I, IV and V introduce this core problematic. The selection of this text for inclusion in this special journal issue responds to present-day realities that inscribe Anders’s reflections on nuclear science and the nuclear situation into new contexts. The critique that ‘Language and End Time’ advances resonates with the way in which the (undemocratic) decisions of a few companies and individuals are shaping the future of life on earth. At the same time, the wider stakes of Anders’s turn against the language employed by (weapons) scientists are newly laid bare by the realities and politics of climate change and fake news. In this new context, the language of science is all too readily dismissed as if it were a mere idiom that can be ignored without consequence. It is against the backdrop of a future that is, if anything, more uncertain than at the time of Anders’s writing, that the essay’s reflections on popularisation, the limits of language and the nature of truth gain added significance.

The Concept, Subject, Objectives, and Objects of Forensic Examination of Melee and Throwing Weapons

The paper discusses the basic categories of concept, subject, objectives, and objects specific to the forensic examination of melee and throwing weapons. The concept of forensic examination of melee and throwing weapons is articulated based on the definition of the forensic theory ofmelee and throwing weapons, as well as general principles of criminalistics and modern weapons science. Examination objectives are divided into three groups: classification, diagnostic, and grouplevelidentification. The paper concludes with a brief overview of the relationship of this forensic discipline with other sciences and its future development prospects

Юлий Сергеевич Худяков – основатель сибирской оружиеведческой школы

The article examines the scientific biography of the famous Soviet and Russian archaeologist and arms expert Yuliy Khudyakova who turns 70 this year; singles out the main stages of the scientist’s career; identifies key directions of his research in the studying of the military and cultural heritage of the nomads of Central Asia and Southern Siberia of the Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the early period of Modern Times. The analysis is given to contribution of Yu.S. Khudyakov in the development of domestic weapons science in general and in the development of theoretical bases for the study of military affairs of nomads in particular. A thesis is proposed about the existence of a special “Siberian” art school with Yu.S. Khudyakov as the founder and the leader. It is established that the distinctive feature of the research of representatives of this scientific school is the application of the developed by Yu.S. Khudyakov comprehensive analytical model to study military affairs of nomadic ethnoses, cultures and the principles of classification of weapons items corresponding to this model. The participation of the jubilee in various spheres of scientific, organizational and educational activities is noted.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ ОТРАСЛЕЙ КРИМИНАЛИСТИЧЕСКОЙ ТЕХНИКИ

The article examines the key provisions of traditional and developing branches of forensic technology as a branch of the forensic science. The article analyzes modern publications of domestic and foreign scientists dedicated to the problems of forensic technology. Discussion issues and gaps existing in the theory and practice of such branches of forensic technology as forensic photography and video recording, forensic phonoscopy, forensic traceology, forensic weapons science, forensic documentation, forensic research of substances, materials and products, forensic registration, etc. The opinions of individual forensic scientists on the resolution of controversial issues of forensic technology are given. The scientific directions that have not received at present recognition of independent branches of forensic technology are indicated. The promising areas of research in the framework of the branches of forensic technology are named, the main trends of its further development are formulated.

US Technological Superiority and the Special Nuclear Relationship: Contrasting British and US Policies for Controlling the Proliferation of Gas-Centrifuge Enrichment

Anglo-American nuclear relations from the mid-1950s on are marked by Britain's attempt to sustain its international significance as a Great Power even while it depended on a sustained flow of US nuclear secrets to build an ‘independent’ nuclear deterrent that could contribute usefully to the defence of Western Europe. A study of Anglo-American debates over the proliferation risks of gas-centrifuge enrichment in the late 1960s provides an ideal case study to illustrate the persistence of the tensions over the exchange of sensitive knowledge in the ‘civilian’ domain that had dominated the earlier negotiations over weapons science and technology. The United Kingdom, as one of the primary signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, thought it crucial to alert Washington to the dangers to the treaty posed by a revolutionary new enrichment process that threatened to ‘democratise’ the production of fissile material. US officials did not share their anxieties. Their major concern was to protect their technological lead and to use it as a political weapon to hem in Britain and those European allies who were developing gas-centrifuge enrichment. The British were once more made aware of the inequality inscribed in the special nuclear relationship deriving from the United States’ technological superiority.

National Ignition Facility faces an uncertain future

As its budget declines, Lawrence Livermore’s $3.5 billion laser fusion facility is refocusing on experiments in support of nuclear weapons science.

Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War

During the Cold War, the credibility of US nuclear weapons scientists was backed up by an integrated system for designing, testing, and manufacturing nuclear weapons. As the Cold War drew to a close in the 1990s, weapons scientists warned that their knowledge was so deeply embedded in the design and testing of nuclear weapons that it might not survive if this system were disrupted. Sociologists Donald MacKenzie and Graham Spinardi used this as evidence for the role of tacit knowledge in weapons design, suggesting that a halt to weapons design and testing could bring on a crisis of credibility, and possibly the ‘uninvention’ of nuclear weapons. In this paper, we examine how the weapons community has avoided such a crisis of credibility. Our analysis turns on the concept of sociotechnical repair – the processes communities and institutions engage in to sustain their existence, identity, and boundaries, particularly when faced with disruptive change. We examine two post-Cold War repair efforts that demonstrate how actors carefully balance discursive, institutional, and material change in the repair of complex sociotechnical systems. The Stockpile Stewardship Program positions weapons expertise as an abstract body of knowledge, and seeks to repair the credibility of weapons scientists by embedding their knowledge in a new sociotechnical context of computer simulation and experimental science. The Reliable Replacement Warhead concept emphasizes the close relationship between weapons knowledge and the design features of stockpile warheads, and seeks to repair credibility by introducing weapons designs optimized for long-term stockpile storage. These repair efforts show that weapons scientists’ views of their own knowledge continued to evolve after the end of the Cold War. In particular, weapons scientists maintained credibility with key constituencies by treating tacit knowledge as a flexible resource that can be successfully integrated into new sociotechnical arrangements.

Biosecurity 2011: Not a year to change minds

Yet another year passed without a biological attack, ensuring that the international community could spend its time focusing on strengthening global biosecurity measures, rather than responding to immediate threats. In 2011, two meetings—the Seventh Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference and the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction—made progress on finding ways to deal with biological threats posed by non-state groups. Less progress was made in countering the prospect of nation-state biological weapons programs, which is not surprising, the author asserts, since the life sciences are not amenable to the arms control tools that have been used to monitor state compliance with other nonproliferation agreements. The author looks at how the Biological Weapons Convention is evolving to adapt to the nature of the biological threat, and at how Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) inspires global efforts to implement biosecurity programs outside the former Soviet Union. The transition from CTR to global scientific engagement requires the G8 Global Partnership to change its philosophy, the author writes; as the original Soviet-based programs targeted scientists known to have worked in weapons programs, the new goal is not to redirect former weapons scientists, but to establish relationships with scientists who were never in weapons programs. The success of such collaboration depends strongly on treating collaborating scientists as partners, not threats. The central questions for biosecurity in 2012 will focus on the international community’s ability to cooperate and whether it can think creatively and strategically and agree to enter partnerships with scientists from all regions of the world.

Target Fabrication of Opacity Experiments on Z for Weapons Science Applications

Opacity data are very important in high energy density physics experiments. Recent targets of alternating layers of either Al2Te3 or Mg/Sn with a CH tamper have been made for obtaining these data. These targets are geometrically simple in the half-moon configuration of the metal compound coating to the pure CH tamper but require stringent procedural requirements to fabricate to the purity requirements. These specific targets require mass ratios of elements that proved to be difficult to obtain while also having the requirement of being pinhole-free and oxygen-free.