Building on and spinning off: Sandia National Labs` creation of sensors for Vietnam

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This paper discusses Sandia National Laboratories` development of new technologies for use in the Vietnam War - specifically the seismic sensors deployed to detect troop and vehicle movement - first along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and later in perimeter defense for American military encampments in South Vietnam. Although the sensor story is a small one, it is interesting because it dovetails nicely with our understanding of the war in Vietnam and its frustrations; of the creation of new technologies for war and American enthusiasm for that technology; and of a technological military and the organizational research and a m … continued below

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20 p.

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Ullrich, R. December 31, 1996.

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This article is part of the collection entitled: Office of Scientific & Technical Information Technical Reports and was provided by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department to the UNT Digital Library, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 183 times. More information about this article can be viewed below.

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  • Sandia National Laboratories
    Publisher Info: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
    Place of Publication: Albuquerque, New Mexico

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This paper discusses Sandia National Laboratories` development of new technologies for use in the Vietnam War - specifically the seismic sensors deployed to detect troop and vehicle movement - first along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and later in perimeter defense for American military encampments in South Vietnam. Although the sensor story is a small one, it is interesting because it dovetails nicely with our understanding of the war in Vietnam and its frustrations; of the creation of new technologies for war and American enthusiasm for that technology; and of a technological military and the organizational research and a m am development structure created to support it. Within the defense establishment, the sensors were proposed within the context of a larger concept - that of a barrier to prevent the infiltration of troops and supplies from North Vietnam to the South. All of the discussion of the best way to fight in Vietnam is couched in the perception that this was a different kind of war than America was used to fighting. The emphasis was on countering the problems posed by guerrilla/revolutionary warfare and eventually by the apparent constraints of being involved in a military action, not an outright war. The American response was to find the right technology to do the job - to control the war by applying a technological tincture to its wounds and to make the war familiar and fightable on American terms. And, when doubts were raised about the effectiveness of applying existing technologies (namely, the bombing of North Vietnam and Laos), the doubters turned to new technologies. The sensors that were developed for use in Vietnam were a direct product of this sort of thinking - on the part of the engineers at Sandia who created the sensors, the civilian scientific advisors who recommended them, and, ultimately, the soldiers in the field who had to use them.

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20 p.

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OSTI as DE97001241

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  • Annual meeting of the History of Science Society, Atlanta, GA (United States), 7-10 Nov 1996

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  • Other: DE97001241
  • Report No.: SAND--96-2824C
  • Report No.: CONF-9611112--1
  • Grant Number: AC04-94AL85000
  • Office of Scientific & Technical Information Report Number: 434987
  • Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metadc677915

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  • December 31, 1996

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  • July 25, 2015, 2:20 a.m.

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  • May 5, 2016, 7:57 p.m.

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Ullrich, R. Building on and spinning off: Sandia National Labs` creation of sensors for Vietnam, article, December 31, 1996; Albuquerque, New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc677915/: accessed December 3, 2023), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.

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