And, while some of them disagree as to whether secrecy is on the increase or decrease in science, most say that the legal authority for a classification system described as excessive is due for review and, potentially, trimming.
"There are opportunities being provided to reassess the situation" of excessive or inappropriate classification, says Theodore Postol, a physicist and a professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "But the situation is not getting any better. In fact, it may be getting worse."
In December 1983, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory performed an underground test of an X-ray laser device called Excalibur, then under development. Excalibur, they hoped, would focus energy emanating from a nuclear explosion into a powerful beam capable of destroying enemy missiles. Although successful in its immediate objectives, the test led to controversy, according to New York Times reporter William ...
