One engineering lesson my teacher explains: The greatest progression in technology is caused by wars.
You're "engineering teacher" (shop teacher I presume) is oversimplyfing.
. Then i thought well if the nuclear bomb is stopping any wars from occuring then where is that incentive to advance?
Explain computers then, that were developed after the nuclear bomb has been dropped.
War is a great funder for scientific advancement, but not because war is war. No, its because any advantage over the enemy can lead to victory and resources, so the military is much more willing to cough up the money required for something that only
might have some advantage.
The real reason why wars fund research is that it creates the kind of pressure where having the technological advantage is a very worthwhile investment.
Microelectronics got a huge boost because people were buying them: cellphones, MP3 players, etc. are a very profitable thing and people making them have good reasons to make more research into the engineering and science behind that.
At some point curiously, is that if you spend too much money on research, you'll end up taking away money from conventional forces. That's one of the reasons why the Third Reich fallen: they were investing in all sorts of ineffective, bullshit stuff instead of using the same resources to make more tanks and troops. Of course the reason for the fall of the Third Reich is many, including embracing beliefs and policies that were counter-productive.
many things have come from wars i mean aeroplanes, computers etc have all been advanced because of the need to destroy our fellow humans more efficiently. What are your thoughts?
Computers and aeroplanes, while they received a significant boost, weren't developed necessarily because of military interest. No, it was a bunch of rich hobbyist that invested into refining the aeroplane's design until it became something usable. From there on, there were people that could invest their efforts into studying and improving aeroplanes.
i thought well if the nuclear bomb is stopping any wars from occuring
The nuclear bomb does not stop wars. It merely deters large-scale wars with nations that have such weapons. Wars on a smaller scale still happen or even wars between nations that do not have nuclear weapons.
Yes, but the nuke is also there as a deterrent to stop wars and also if the nuke wasn't invented, how would the end of WW2 turned out? It could have been different.
Not by much. The Third Reich's fall was inevitable and Japan's ass has been wiped clean with constant, never-ending bombing (with conventional bombs).
our addiction to wars about oil suck in resources that could be used to research alternative fuels.
You're oversimplyfing your "addiction to oil" bit. Modern industry and transportation relies on oil and there is simply no readily-at-hand substitute.
The rising oil prices has been slowly funding more alternative energy sources. When the price tag for oil rises more and more, there will be incentive to look more and more into alternatives. Not because alternatives are holy or great, but because that is the practical solution and refusal to follow it will look stupid.
Not only did the Manhattan Project distract many engenius researchers form perfecting new technologies to the benefit of all mankind,
Like what?
Oh, I know! A practical, powerful heat-based power source that uses very little fuel to supply tremendous energy, relying only on water and fuel, while being independent and isolated from the outside world. All while producing waste only in the form of small, easily-handled solids that could be recycled.
Oh, wait.
Environmentalists hate it because... because... well, because its evil. Let's drop it and go back to mills.
just think of what the research funding for nukes during the Cold War could have been used for!
Like what?
When we could have furthered our technological advances, we instead created man made Armageddon.
Again, like what?
Prove that the research and development of nuclear arments has stagnated scientific and engineering development.
Aren't they perfecting the laser as we speak?
Only as an anti-air defence, not really as a hand-held or even mobile weapon. That, and they're still in prototype stages.
