TRACKS TO INNOVATION - INTERPLAY BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The use of particle tracks-the main themes and many of the specific ex amples-were initiated in an industrial environment at the General Elec tric Research Laboratory. Science in industrial environments is neglec ted in the United States today, yet the area of nuclear tracks gives a good many examples of practical applications of science-applications that would have been unlikely to have emerged promptly from science do ne outside of industry (where the obligation to seek practical outcome s is absent). This paper will briefly review how track uses developed. The discussion will cover discrete fields of use, both scientific and applied, with emphasis on the interplay of science and technology. Th ree of the subjects are hole engineering-from filters to counters, rad on-a hazard and a help, and tracks of time-oil and geochronology.