Technology
| Agents | Dissemination | Protection | Detection | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | Chlorine Chloropicrin Phosgene Mustard gas |
Wind dispersal | Gas masks, urinated-on gauze | Smell |
| 1910s | Lewisite | Chemical shells | Gas mask Rosin oil clothing |
smell of geraniums |
| 1920s | Projectiles w/ central bursters | CC-2 clothing | ||
| 1930s | G-series nerve agents | Aircraft bombs | Blister agent detectors Color change paper |
|
| 1940s | Missile warheads Spray tanks |
Protective ointment (mustard) Collective protection Gas mask w/ Whetlerite |
||
| 1950s | ||||
| 1960s | V-series nerve agents | Aerodynamic | Gas mask w/ water supply | Nerve gas alarm |
| 1970s | ||||
| 1980s | Binary munitions | Improved gas masks (protection, fit, comfort) |
Laser detection | |
| 1990s | Novichok nerve agents |
Although crude chemical warfare has been employed in many parts of the world for thousands of years, "modern" chemical warfare began during World War I - see Poison gas in World War I.
Initially, only well-known commercially available chemicals and their variants were used. These included chlorine and phosgene gas. The methods used to disperse these agents during battle were relatively unrefined and inefficient. Even so, casualties could be heavy, due to the mainly static troop positions which were characteristic features of trench warfare.
Germany, the first side to employ chemical warfare on the battlefield, simply opened canisters of chlorine upwind of the opposing side and let the prevailing winds do the dissemination. Soon after, the French modified artillery munitions to contain phosgene – a much more effective method that became the principal means of delivery.
Since the development of modern chemical warfare in World War I, nations have pursued research and development on chemical weapons that falls into four major categories: new and more deadly agents; more efficient methods of delivering agents to the target (dissemination); more reliable means of defense against chemical weapons; and more sensitive and accurate means of detecting chemical agents.
Read more about this topic: Chemical Warfare
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“Our technology forces us to live mythically, but we continue to think fragmentarily, and on single, separate planes.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“The real accomplishment of modern science and technology consists in taking ordinary men, informing them narrowly and deeply and then, through appropriate organization, arranging to have their knowledge combined with that of other specialized but equally ordinary men. This dispenses with the need for genius. The resulting performance, though less inspiring, is far more predictable.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“The successor to politics will be propaganda. Propaganda, not in the sense of a message or ideology, but as the impact of the whole technology of the times.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)