PHYSICS and SOCIETY '!HE NE\>l)LE'ITER OF '!HE FORUM CN PHYSICS AND SOCIETY, PUBLISHED BY '!HE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY, 335 EAST 45th ST., NEW YORK, NY 10017 VOIUlOO 9, Number 2 July, 1980 TABLE OF CXNl'ENl'S PAGE News of t:l1e Fortllll•••••••••• "".""".,, •• ,,""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""2 letter to t:l1e Editor I Jom Giln:ore••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2 The M:>bile Lan::l-Based MX - A National Security Disa.ster, B" Ket1t Harri,5()n" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " ,,3 The MX Debate (Bill Moyers' Journal), Jom Dowling••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••5 Special Report - APS Activities in Human Rights, Jom Paramentola•••••••••••••••••6 Avital, Jom Dowli.rlc;J"""""""""""""""",,.!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""8 PHYSICS AND SOCIETY Ecii.toJt: John Vowune PHYSICS AND scx:::::r.E'.r. AA a quaJt.teJtiy neJA,l¢tWelt 06 the Fo!U.Lm on Phy&.iC6 and Soc.idy, a d.ivAA.ion 06 The Amelt.ic.an Phy&.ic.a.1. Soc.iety. The neJA,l¢tWelt .ill d.i6tJr..ibu.t:ed 6Jtee to membelt¢ 06 :the Foltum. It pltueYLt6 neJA,l¢ 06 the FOJtum and 06 the Amelt.ic.a.n Phy&.ic.a.t Soc.idy and pltov.idu a med.iu.m 60Jt Fo!U.Lm membeM to exc.ha.nge .idea..!>. PHYSICS AND SOCIETY aao pltueYLt6 tVr..tic.tu and tWeM on the &c.ien.:ti6,ic. and ec.onom.ie hea.tth 06 :the phy&.iC6 eommunUy: on:the Jte!a.Uo I1h 06 phY.o.iC6 and the phy&.icA eommu.n.i:ty to goveltnme.n:t and to &oc.iety, and :the .ooc.iat Jtupono.ib..i.U:t.iu 06 &c.ien:t.i6to. Con:tJU­ bu.t:.iono &houtd be .oeM to the Ecii.toJt: John Vowung, Phy.o.iC6 VepMtmen:t, ManoMetd S:ta.:te College, Ma.rt.¢6.ietd, PA 16933, 717-662-4275. PHYSICS AND SOCIETY .ill wo d.i6rubu.t:ed 6Jtee :to phy.o.iC6 ubJta.Jt.iu upon JteqUeAt. Sueh Jtequuto and Jtequu.t6 60Jt othelt .in60Jtma.Uon .ohoutd be &w :to :the ecii.toJt. Forum on Physics & Society BULK RATE U. s. POSTAGE Physics Depart~ent PAID Mansfield State College Mansfield, PI. Permit No. 3 Mansfield, Pa. 16933 Educational Non·Proflt PHYSICSAND SOCIETY, Volume 9, Number 2 July, 1980 Page 2 follows. Anon:;t:m:JUS: "An ab:mination to read. Go back to re:jUlar printing and convert your ca:nputer to electronic games." ene returned the wb:>le newsletter and wrote on it "utter­ Forum Elections APS plans to distribute bal­ ly terrible." Many of the 31 offered con­ lots for Forum Officers in early Septanl:::Jer. structive criticisns. Michael Fisher of Cor­ The Forum Executive carndttee prepared ques­ nell: "If you want the newsletter actually tions on issues of interest to the Forum for read I feel you must find aD:lther netb::ld." Forum can:lidates to answer. The responses of Terry Carlton of Oberlin: ""If maintaining Forum can:lidates to these questions will be such ccmnunications anong menbers were not so published in a special election issue of important, it \\OUld scarcely matter row ef­ "Physics and Society." This newsletter will fectively it were done." The Frlitor thanks be in Forum menbers hands by mid-Septanl:::Jer. all tOOse woo troubled to write, especially Please mId your ballots until you have had tOOse wb:> ccmnented favorably on the content, a chanoe to read the can:lidates' responses. if not the format of the newsletter. Future Forum. Sessions The Forum has three, AI:ms Race Fesolution A suggestion was made ~, and three sessions available for the to have a Forum session on the question: New York (Jan., 1981), pOOenix (March, 1981) "sh::>uld the APS Council support a statal:ent and Baltinore (April, 1981) meetings. Many on the anus race such as that adopted by the potential sessions have been suggested, e.g.• AAN3?" (See Science 207, 807 (1980) or the technology assessm=nt, nuclear wastes, nu­ Forum Newsletter 9, ~l, 7 (April, 1980).) clear proliferation, energy conservation, Forum rnanbers are-requested to write the F£li­ SALT verification, Freeda:w'fI'l.nnan Rights ­ tor stating their opinions on whether or not definitely planned for January - see Para­ the Forum Executive Council smuld pursue mentola's article in this issue, coal, un­ this issue. usual professions for physicists, solar energy, low-level radiation, visible scien­ Other Itans Reports were given by the Prize tists, breeder reactors, university physics ca:rrnittee and the Naninating ca:mtittee. The in the 1980s, exp::>nential growth or steady next Executive camtittee Meeting will be at state, Federal priorities for basic research, the New York neeting in January, 1981. elementary and secorrlary science education, helium conservation, MX versus ST.JM5 concepts, Forum ~ of the APS 1.T'trJ join underdeveloped countries, solar satellites, the ....'Y ~ writing Dietrich Scht'oeel:, etc. If you \\OUld like to contribute to or Depa1:tmentof Physics & Ast:.ronaqy,tItI1-.l1;V . organize a session contact Ken Ford, Presi­ of North~lina, Chapel Hill, NC 215~~.•J'. dent's Office, New ~ico Institute of Mining There are no FOI:UJi\ dues for APS mEftlbers r: and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, 505-835­ 5508. Ken plans to finalize the January, 1981 neeting by late August. Letter to the Editor (excerpts): Treasurer's Report There is $1353 in an awards el'idOi'.mimt accpunt, $3800 in an open.­ ting account. Four newsletters and a yearly On the AAN3 adoption of a resolut:.ion for con­ ballot are the major expense itans. trol of nuclear weapons: resolutions with these objectives are goo:i, l:.ut rot effective. Newsletter It sh::>u1d contain items of direct relevance to the Forum, e.g., minutes of APS 1. We talk about continued vigorous support Council .Meetings, session reports, news of of U.S. efforts. Everyone knows these ef­ the Forum, etc. 31 letters (a very high forts are riddled with politics and have as 1.1% reader reSFOnse) fran Forum Newsletter many opinions as there are politicians. It readers ccmrented on the ca:nputer fonnat. is difficult to know what and wOOm to support. OVerall these were 4 pro and 27 con the ca:n­ 2 • Canpreh:msive test ban treaties would puter look. A few typical reSFOnses were as kill research. There are many new things PHYSICSAND SOCIETY, Volume 9, Number 2 July, 1980 Page 3 ness of readers across the nation ab:>ut this happening in nuclear physics. Are going we systan. to 1mt our exper.i.n'ental searching 'tor fear may dev~op a netI and Irore a\'ieSClOO weapon? we Tn: MX missile itself nee::ls to be distin­ Even at t:hi,s point we may be too late. guished fran its proposed basing m:x1e. The 3. We can oPfOse developne:nt of new weapons syst.e:ns l::ut it \olOUld have little effect. missile is a netI ICBM, currently under deve1­ opne:nt, weighing 190,000 pounds, 71 feet long, This does noth:i.ng l::ut point up our frustra­ and carrying ten independently targeted re­ tion with the systan which sh:mld be attack­ ed directly. entry vehicles (R\Ts), each carrying a 335 kiloton nuclear The R\Ts to have 4. Conversion of nuclear weapons develop­ warhead. are ment to peaceful p.u:poses is a worthy point. an accuracy (estimated) of 0.05 nautical miles circular error probable (CEP), much better We ~ attenpting to do this for increased than existin;J Minutsnan II or III R\Ts. p:JWer production; and so are Irost ca.mtries on the Globe. The fine line nust be drawn The currently favored basing systan pro­ between (1) the haves and have oots, (2) the poses 200 basing sites, each oontaining one probl€!ll& in this oountry with advocates of no missile hidden in one of 23 shelters. The nuclear power, (3) the i.nsumountable proble:n shelters in each site are to be a mi.rUm:Im of of cx:mpliance by other countries. Again the 7000 feet apart, l::ut connected by a road. question arises, wJ:x> will initiate, and when? (originally, this road was to be in the fotm of a loop, or "racetrack", l::ut is f'C1III planned In all of the above the AAAS resolution as­ sumes there is a plan, l::ut in reality it is to be straight.) Tn: missile in each site is to be transported f:ron shelter to aoother all talk. For a solution, the APS and other one by a "transporter-erector-launcher" (TEL) nanber:s of scientific cx:mnunities oould get weighing 670,000 pounds and 180 feet long. together with their peers in other countries The theory is that, in an eneJr\Y attack, the and fonnulate positive plans to ac<XIllPHsh ene:ny oould not detect which shelter in each these objectives. We in the scientific can­ site oontained the nussile, that all 4600 munityon this Globe have trenendous clout if so we use it properly. shelters would have to be attacked in order to insure destruction of the syste:n. John GilIrore, Vice President Minutanan Lal::oratories, Inc., 916 Main St. This basing systan \olOUld be arms-oontrol verifiable in that portOOles in the shelter Acton, ~ 01720 (18 May 1980) roofs oou1d be opened to give Soviet satel­ lites a view of the missile. Deployment is currently p~ for the deserts of western M:>bile MX - A Secur­ "The Land-Based National Utah and eastern NeVada, with oonstruction ity Oisaster" by B. Kent Harrison, PlWSics & of the main base, roads, and utilities to be­ Department, Young univer­ Astl:orDt\Y Brigham gin in 1981 and sn:lter oonstruction to begin sity, Provo, Utah 84602.