The 1950s Science and Technology: Overview

During the 1950s, dramatic advances in an array of technologies reshaped American culture and transformed the manner in which Americans viewed civilization. More and more families owned television sets, on which they increasingly depended for news and entertainment. While most TV sets picked up only black-and-white signals, the first color TVs were produced and the first broadcasts presented "in living color" were aired. Improvements in magnetic tape quality resulted in an increase in the taping of television programs (before tape, all shows were aired live). A transatlantic cable was laid between Europe and North America, allowing for improvements in telephone communication between the continents. Jet-propelled aircraft were introduced, leading to nonstop air travel across and between continents. Scientific advances were made in a range of disciplines, from geology to genetics. New products were developed, from photocopy machines to oral contraceptive birth control pills, long-playing records (LPs) to Liquid Paper. The earliest video game was even invented in 1958!

One of the decade's watershed events was the marketing of the first commercially produced computer, the UNIVAC I. By contemporary standards, the UNIVAC was huge and physically imposing. It was purchased by large corporations and government agencies; the concept of the personal home computer would not be realized for decades. While many at the time were fascinated by computers, others feared these new machines. Would the advent of computer technology lead to a future in which machines ruled humankind? Another momentous development was the evolution and commercial marketing of the transistor. First developed in 1947, the transistor (a small, durable electronic device used for sound amplification and switching) became a key component in a host of products, including television sets, computers, radios, and hearing aids.

On a more ominous note, the development of the H-Bomb (hydrogen bomb) accelerated during the early 1950s, as the cold war escalated between the United States and Soviet Russia. The H-Bomb was more powerful and deadly than the A-Bomb (atomic bomb) that had exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, ending World War II. Some in the scientific community, like physicist Edward Teller, favored the employment of nuclear technology in weaponry. Others, such as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who headed the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb, stressed that the technology should be used only for peaceful purposes. Meanwhile, the development of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) allowed for the launching of nuclear warheads that could speed across Earth and destroy their targets. Such technological advances immeasurably aided the escalation of the nuclear arms race. Then on October 4, 1957, the space age was born when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit Earth.

Scientific and technological progress was making everyday life more pleasant and comfortable, particularly for those whose financial resources allowed them to fly across the world in jet aircraft or place telephone calls across continents. At the same time, many feared that much of this new technology also might be employed to wage war, and perhaps destroy civilization.