Hans Bethe and Rudolf Peierls: Correspondence

The Bethe-Peierls Correspondence

by

Sabine Lee

ISBN-10: 9812771352
ISBN-13: 978-9812771353

Publisher:

This book contains the correspondence between Hans Bethe and Rudolf Peierls, two first-rate scientists who made important contributions to 20th century physics. The document collection is of great significance for our understanding of 20th century physics, but it also illustrates many interesting political and social aspects such as the life of émigré scientists from Nazi-Germany on both sides of the Atlantic and the political activities of nuclear scientists after the development of the atomic bomb. Furthermore, the letters exchanged between Bethe and Peierls facilitate the appreciation of information transfer between Europe and the US and they shed light on mechanisms of higher education and academic research. Spanning almost seven decades, this almost uninterrupted correspondence is a unique source of 20th century history.

[Note: Find a library copy unless you are wealthy for I found copies of this book in the $50.00 to $236.99 price range.]


Hans Bethe...physicist's physicist

Deceased--Edwin E. Salpeter

Edwin E. Salpeter
December 3rd, 1924 to November 26th, 2008

"Edwin E. Salpeter, Leader in Astrophysics Study, Dies at 83"

by

The Associated Press

November 29th, 2008

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Edwin E. Salpeter, an astrophysicist widely known for his studies of chain reactions in stars and as a developer of the "Salpeter-Bethe equation" describing how helium changes to carbon, died Tuesday at his home here. He was 83.

His death was announced by Cornell University, where he was an emeritus professor of physical sciences.

Along with Hans Bethe, a theoretical physicist at Cornell who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1967, Dr. Salpeter introduced an equation in 1951 showing how helium nuclei fuse to form carbon in the interiors of ancient stars. Until then, the origin of elements beyond helium in the periodic table was unexplained.

From that work, Dr. Salpeter determined the formation rates of stars of different masses. The process remains the basis of today’s studies into the rates of stellar births and deaths.

In 1964, while working independently, Dr. Salpeter and a Soviet physicist, Yakov Zeldovich, were the first to propose that a stream of gas falling toward a black hole could in principle be heated to very high temperatures, where it would produce detectable X-rays. Thirty years later, data from the Hubble telescope confirmed his idea.

"It's good to finally win the bet," Dr. Salpeter said at the time.

In 1997, Dr. Salpeter and Sir Fred Hoyle, the British scientist who coined the term "Big Bang," shared the $500,000 Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for "their pioneering contributions involving the study of nuclear reactions in stars and stars' development."

The prize is given annually to honor accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prizes in science, whose winners are also chosen by the academy.

Born in Austria, Dr. Salpeter moved to Cornell in 1949 as a postdoctoral student and spent his career there. Although he retired in 1997, he kept publishing papers and moved into new arenas of research, including explorations of neuromuscular disorders and the epidemiology of tuberculosis.

A self-deprecating man, Dr. Salpeter described his mind as "quick but sloppy," saying he preferred the challenge of tackling a contentious new problem to undertaking mathematical calculations.

Late in his career, research by Dr. Salpeter and his wife, Miriam Salpeter, an expert in cell biology and a neurobiologist at Cornell, contributed to the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular disorders like myasthenia gravis. She died in 2000 at the age of 71.

Dr. Salpeter remarried and is survived by his wife, Lhamo; two daughters, Judy and Shelley; and four grandchildren.

Edwin Ernest Salpeter


Book review-- "Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe"

Credit where credit is due--"Big Bang"

Fred Hoyle--cosmologist

Philip Morrison...physicist

Rudi Peieris...physicist's physicist

Sir Hermann Bondi--steady state universe

The astronomy/cosmology debates of the 1930's & 1940's

The Manhattan Project...video presentation

From POSP's stringer Tim...the following:

"The Moment in Time documents the uncertain days of the beginning of World War II when it was feared the Nazis were developing the atomic bomb. The history of the bomb's development is traced through recollections of those who worked on what was known as "the gadget"."

The Moment in Time: The Manhattan Project


Also...

Andrei Sakharov vs Edward Teller

Philip Morrison...physicist

Rudi Peieris...physicist's physicist

Tickling the dragon's tail

Close, but no cigar

The only known German diagram of a nuclear weapon.

Eventually the passage of time tends to reveal materials that can confirm previous suspicions. Lots of foot work, arm bending, and a desire by archivists to reveal materials and shed some new light on the probability that Germany during the World War II era was developing, and some contend test, a nuclear weapon.

"New light on Hitler's bomb"

Here are some thoughts by Hans Bethe regarding Germany and the nuclear bomb.

"The Farm Hall tapes show that Werner Heisenberg did not know how to calculate the critical mass in 1945, indicating that he did not work on atomic bombs during the war."

"The German Uranium Project"

NOVA aired Hitler's Sunken Secret some time ago. I guess its focus was on the discovery of a ship containing canisters of "heavy water"--deuterium:

One of the most daring clandestine operations of World War II was the 1944 sinking of the Norwegian ferry Hydro with its cargo of "heavy water" destined for the Nazi's secret atomic bomb project. Although the mission was declared a success, no one ever established if the special shipment was actually on board. In this program, NOVA plunges 1,300 feet beneath a remote Norwegian lake to find the answer.

Exploring the pristine lake bottom with a remotely operated vehicle, the expedition team locates the remarkably well-preserved ship, along with evidence of a mysterious cargo in steel drums. Analysis of the contents of one of those drums will solve a six-decade-long mystery about the role the Allies played in preventing a Nazi nuclear bomb.
The program features participants in the Hydro affair, including a member of the Norwegian Resistance who slipped aboard the vessel on the night of February 21, 1944, and helped plant explosives in the bow that were timed to go off the following day when the ferry was over the deepest part of Lake Tinn. Intelligence had indicated that the Hydro would be transporting railroad flatcars loaded with barrels of heavy water produced by the nearby Norsk hydroelectric plant, which at that time was the world's largest power station. The Germans had conquered Norway early in the war and immediately ordered the Norsk plant to double its output of heavy water.

Crucial to the Nazi nuclear program, heavy water was extracted from ordinary water by using electricity to break apart ordinary water molecules and concentrating the solution until all that remained was the rare, heavier form of the liquid. With a bigger, "heavier" nucleus than ordinary water, heavy water was an ideal substance for slowing neutrons in a nuclear reactor, a key step in triggering a chain reaction....

With a sufficient supply of heavy water and uranium, the Germans could use reactors to produce bomb-grade material for nuclear weapons that would render the Third Reich invincible. Fear of that outcome sparked the Allies to undertake their own crash program. This became the Manhattan Project, which ultimately produced the first atomic bomb.
The Norwegian partisans had no inkling of the reason for their mission. All they knew was that it had top priority from their contact in London and that innocent Norwegian civilians were likely to be aboard on the last, fatal voyage of the Hydro. ...
NOVA interviews one of the civilians who survived the sinking and who remembers seeing barrels floating among the debris. These barrels were immediately recovered by the Germans and shipped to Berlin. However, had they been filled with heavy water they should have sunk, not floated. This is just one of the mysteries NOVA solves by snaring a barrel, bringing it to the surface, and seeing just what's inside.

Transcript:

Hitler's Sunken Secret

NOVA's Hitler's Sunken Secret was better than I expected: A bit of science; a bit of mystery. It was a decent description of Germany's attitude towards the production of nuclear weapons--again, money politics, war strategy. Their discovery of fissionable characteristics of uranium was known in the late '30's and they were in need of the moderating quality of deuterium--lots of it to meet the qualifications of weapons grade plutonium production. The appropriated Norwegian fertilizer plant was used to supply the deuterium and a shipment was to be sent to Germany via the ferry across a Norwegian lake. Well, intelligence reports were somewhat colored and the full scope of Germany's attitude towards nuclear weapon production was not fully understood, thus the order was given to sink the ferry. It was successfully sunk with the loss of lives to boot. But the curiosity of historians wanted to make certain of the existence of drums of deuterium and answer a few mysterious questions. The ferry was found and one drum was brought to the surface for analysis. Sure enough, it was filled with deuterium which even matched the manifest records. But the curious question...why was there no German security around and on board the ferry? The answer was revealed in the politics and war strategy of Germany--a simple matter of not really realizing the long range value of nuclear weapons for a militaristic country as Germany. Quicker solutions were necessary for them. In other words, the production of nuclear weapons was a low priority for them and the extra security was not needed. And, there was sufficient science in the program too: Cursory explanation of nuclear weapon manufacture, physics of fission, and chemistry. It is worth viewing a second time.

And Japan?

"Nuclear Weapons History: Japan's Wartime Bomb Projects Revealed"

Hans Bethe...physicist's physicist

Hans Bethe

(1906-2005)

"Hans A. Bethe (1906-2005)"

by

Freeman Dyson

April 8th, 2005

Theoretical physicists come in two varieties: deep thinkers and problem solvers. Hans Bethe was the supreme problem solver of the past century. He was not a deep thinker like Heisenberg and Dirac, who laid the foundations of modern physics in the 1920s. But he took their theories and made them into practical tools for understanding the behavior of atoms, stars, and everything in between. He might have described his contribution to science with the words that Isaac Newton used to introduce the third and final volume of his Principia Mathematica: “It remains that, from the same principles, I now demonstrate the frame of the system of the world.” Bethe demonstrated how quantum theory can explain phenomena as diverse as the supernova explosions of stars in the sky, the multiplication of cosmic-ray showers in the atmosphere, and the fine structure of the energy levels in the microwave spectrum of a hydrogen atom. He wrote a comprehensive review of nuclear physics and demonstrated how nuclear reactions keep the Sun and the stars shining. In 1967, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for his work on the Sun and stars. But his studies of the energy levels of hydrogen were at least as important and even more fundamental, demonstrating the effects of quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field on the dynamics of atoms. His 1947 paper on the hydrogen atom was only three pages long, but it set the style for theoretical calculations in particle physics for the next 50 years. On Bethe’s desk at Cornell University, where he lived and taught for almost 70 years, there was always a pad of paper that he used for calculations. His door was usually open; students and colleagues came in constantly to discuss a wide variety of problems. Bethe would instantly switch his attention from his own problem to theirs. As soon as they left the room, he would instantly switch his attention back and continue his calculation where he had left off. He continued to pour out a stream of research papers while carrying a full load of teaching and administrative duties and supervising an army of graduate students. When I was one of his graduate students, he came every day to eat lunch with us at the student cafeteria, sharing our problems and telling stories of his adventures in Germany and in Los Alamos. We learned even more at the lunches than we did at his lectures. Everyone called him Hans. He told us that one of the best things about moving from Germany to America was that nobody in America called him “Herr Professor.” Bethe remained active as a physicist, doing calculations and publishing papers, well into his nineties. From the age of 70 to the age of 95, he enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with Gerald Brown, working out theories of supernova explosions and gammaray bursts. Brown has published a delightful account of the collaboration, with the title “Fly with Eagles”. Brown says, “I had to wait until he was more than 70 years old in order to have any chance of keeping up with him. He worked like a bull-dozer, heading directly for the light at the end of the tunnel.” The last time I talked with Bethe, he said, “It is a shame. Now I am 98 and I cannot be as active as I was when I was 90.” Bethe carried in his head all the numbers that play an important role in physics or in engineering. Given any question, he could estimate a numerical answer with lightning speed. His estimates were amazingly accurate. He put this skill to good use when he helped Robert Wilson to design a succession of particle accelerators at Cornell. The same skill made him an ideal leader for the theoretical division at Los Alamos, designing the first atomic bomb during World War II and helping to design the first hydrogen bomb in 1952. For the 60 years that he lived after 1945, he worked hard to educate the public about the facts of nuclear weaponry and the impossibility of winning a nuclear war. He was actively engaged in fighting for arms-control treaties and against escalations of the arms race. At the age of 90, he wrote in a letter to President Clinton: “The time has come for our nation to declare that it is not working, in any way, to develop further weapons of mass destruction of any kind.…You might consider making a suitable pronouncement along these lines, to discipline the bureaucracy, and to reassure the world that America is vigilant in its desire to ensure that new kinds of nuclear weapons are not created.” Now that he is dead, it is up to us to continue the good fight that he fought for nuclear sanity, moderation, and common sense.

Here are three lectures by Hans Bethe of Cornell University who died in 2005. He discusses the history and content of quantum mechanics. There is an introduction and conclusion by Silvan S. Schweber and Edwin E. Salpeter.

Lectures

Hans Bethe (second row, center) and members of the physics faculty, ca. 1935, shortly after Bethe came to Cornell University.
Copyright Cornell University

From Cornell University here is a twenty minute production [1995] regarding Hans Bethe's relationship with that university.

It features Hans Bethe, John Bachall, Freeman Dyson, and many more.

"I Can Do That: Hans Bethe's First 60 Years at Cornell"

Here is a paper given by Silvan Schweber at the Pauling Symposium in 1995

"Writing the Biography of a Living Scientist: Hans Bethe"

And from the SLAC [Stanford Linear Accelerator Center] colloquia series:

[Hans Bethe is featured in several scenes.]

"Day After Trinity: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb"

Documentary

October 31st, 2005

On October 31st at 4:00 pm in Panofsky Auditorium SLAC’s Colloquium Series will present the exceptional Oscar-nominated documentary The Day After Trinity. The film offers invaluable insight into historic events which have forever changed the face of our world – this screening should not to be missed.

After witnessing the tremendous destructive power of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer declared “I have become death”. Still topically relevant a quarter of a century since its release, Director Jon Else’s documentary uses interviews, archival footage, and narration to reveal the internal landscape of the man whose leadership at Los Alamos, New Mexico, defined the rise of the Manhattan Project and the beginning of the Atomic Age.

The Day After Trinity traces the unexpected path of Oppenheimer’s career - from his formation of the Los Alamos colony and the first successful atomic bomb detonation at the Trinity test site in 1945, to his final years spent branded as a security risk and excluded from the atomic energy research he pioneered due to his opposition to the development of the Hydrogen bomb.

The full movie is about 90 minutes long.

Pief Panofsky who was present at the Trinity Test in July of 1945 will make a few remarks about the past and the future of nuclear weapons, and answer questions, if desired.

"Day After Trinity: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb"

Nuclear weaponry

"Russell-Einstein Manifesto"

A Plea for Nuclear Arms Control

July 9, 1955

Perry W. Bridgman
Max Born
Frederic Joliot-Curie
Albert Einstein
Leopold Infeld
Herman J. Muller
Linus Pauling
Cecil F. Powell
Joseph Rotblat
Bertrand Russell
Hideki Yukawa

"Here, then, is the problem," the Manifesto stated, "which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war? People will not face this alternative because it is so difficult to abolish war."

The Russell-Einstein Manifesto makes the following points:

1.) Scientists have special responsibilities to awaken the public to the technological threats, particularly nuclear threats, confronting humanity.

2.) Those scientists with the greatest knowledge of the situation appear to be the most concerned.

3.) Nuclear weapons endanger our largest cities and threaten the future of humanity.

4.) In the circumstance of prevailing nuclear threat, humankind must put aside its differences and confront this overriding problem.

5.) The prohibition of modern weapons is not a sufficient solution to the threat; war as an institution must be abolished.

6.) Nonetheless, as a first step the nuclear weapons states should renounce these weapons.

7.) The choice before humanity is to find peaceful means of settling conflicts or to face "universal death."

"There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death."

"The Russell-Einstein Manifesto"

I was doing some research on ancient metallurgy, especially in India, and discovered an interesting statement: "...none of the Rajput cannons were ever used to confront the British who succeeded in conquering the sub-continent without ever having to fight against the country's best equipped armies, thus demonstrating that technological progress is not an end in itself." [Rajput were Hindus of the warrior caste dating back to the 7th century. "Rajput" is a Sanskrit word meaning "son of a king (rajputra)" and the dominant people of Rajputana--Rajasthan. The emphasis is on the phrase "...demonstrating that technological progress is not an end in itself." Development of nuclear weapons and storing a pile of the weapons to detour hostile nations may be futile for a nation may be brought to its knees by lesser skillful or sophisticated technologies.

The old bromide "might makes right" is becoming antiquated and doesn't fit well into a mature species that mankind will eventually reach. Having the biggest stick [nuclear weapons] doesn't appear to persuade or subjugate terrorists. Maybe North Korea, but that may well be unfound hysteria on the communist regime. "First strike" capability is real and awesome. But, that had better be based on better intelligence than currently demonstrated; a truly thinking administration that suppresses personal agendas.

"The B61 is a tactical thermonuclear gravity bomb which can be carried aboard a variety of strategic and tactical aircraft (including the B-52 and B-2A bombers and the F-16 fighter). First deployed in 1968, an estimated 3,000 weapons in nine different versions (designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory) were ultimately built, with yields ranging from 0.3-300 kilotons. Seven of these versions remain operational, including the B61-11, deployed in 1997."

I suppose one has to draw the line somewhere...when do nuclear weapons verge on the ridiculous--such as the B61?

"It is scientifically and technically possible to build an earth penetrating device that could bury a B617 warhead 30 meters into concrete, or 150 meters into earth, before detonating it. The device (based on knowledge and technology that are available since 50 years) would however be large and cumbersome. Better penetrating materials, components able to withstand larger stresses, higher impact velocities, and/or high explosive driven penetration aids, can only marginally improve the device. It is concluded that the robust nuclear earth penetrating (RNEP) program may be as much motivated by the development of new technology directly applicable to next generation nuclear weapons, and by the political necessity to periodically reassess the role and utility of nuclear weapons, than by the perceived military need for a weapon able to destroy deeply buried targets. Funding for a nuclear “bunker buster” warhead has been dropped from the U.S. Energy Department’s 2006 budget, according to information released on October 26, 2005. However, like other major political issues, the project of earth penetrating warheads is a recurring subject, which has to be assessed in the context of an evolving technological and strategic environment, that is becoming particularly complex because of the advent of fourth generation nuclear weapons and new nuclear weapon States."

"B61"

"The B61 (Mk-61) Bomb"

Secrets of society? Who knows and even scarier, a thermonuclear weapon that has fallen from the limelight. Anyone remember the "cobalt bomb". This was proposed by Leo Szilard and was supposed to be the ultimate "doomsday" weapon virtually destroying everything on Earth. Not very practical from a "winner take all" strategy, but it did theoretically establish some fear. Below is a link to a good explanation of regular thermonuclear weapons including the "Co-60" bomb.

"The Never-Tested Doomsday Bomb"

The "neutron bomb":

"In strategic terms, the neutron bomb has a theoretical deterrent effect: discouraging an armored ground assault by arousing the fear of neutron bomb counterattack. The bomb would disable enemy tank crews in minutes, and those exposed would die within days."

It appears that the basic targets are ground troops and armored vehicles that would normally be resistant to a conventional thermonuclear weapon generating heat and initial blast. But this weapon can produce huge quantities of neutrons which are absorbed by the armored vehicles. Understand that the M-1 tank is partially constructed of depleted uranium and with a heavy bombardment of neutrons fission would ensure that the vehicle would become radioactive. Still a nasty weapon and certainly confined to conventional warfare which may become nonexistent.

"Neutron bomb"

Hans Bethe felt "the most intense relief" that atomic weapons he helped develop had not been used since WWII – but horror that thousands more had been built.

"Hans in War and Peace"

You know...we talk about the terrible power of nuclear weapons, but none of us has ever experienced such a weapon...only by proxy. If we felt the heat, the wind, the blinding flash, the storm of debris, the radiation, we may try a bit harder to resolve this issue.

One may discuss many issues here and on different levels. Is the bulk of weaponry "defensive" or "offensive" and just to what degree of sophistication and lethality is needed to protect, destroy, persuade? Having thousands of nuclear weapons is absurd. Historically, the awesomeness of a nation's strength was measured by military might and the technologies at the military's disposal. The Hittites had the advantage of iron; the French armies were devastated by the English longbow; the Japanese brought to defeat by nuclear weapons. "Might" doesn't always make "right". There are no nations today save North Korea [and their threats are mere sabre rattling; pleas for global acceptance; ranting of an insane dictator] that pose a serious threat. The current threats are the idiotic terrorists that have lost all sense of rationality and think they can change powers by violence. They are a disgrace to their faith, ethnicity, and value of life. Their tactics of raw violence will dissolve into global jadedness and the acts will become superfluous. Surely, the citizens of this world can do a whole lot better than indulge in pettiness and the realization of a dominate regime that relishes subjugation and manipulation. That is corrupt power and cupidity at its worst. Nuclear parody is long gone. But understand this, great sums of revenue are generated during war time--commerce in a nasty way.

Here are two famous letters composed with the assistance of Leo Szilard, submitted to President Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding the production, proliferation, and use of atomic weapons.

Albert Einstein's letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, August 2, 1939

Albert Einstein
Old Grove Road
Nassau Point
Peconic, Long Island

August 2, 1939
F. D. Roosevelt,
President of the United States,
White House
Washington, D. C.

Sir:

Some recent work by E.Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in a manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of this situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations:

In the course of the last four months it has been made probable - through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium,by which vast amount s of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future.

This new phenomena would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable - though much less certain - that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, m ight very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air.

Page 2

The United States has only very poor ores of uranium in moderate quantities. There is some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia, while the most important source of uranium is Belgian Congo.
In view of this situation you may think it desirable to have some permanent contact maintained between the administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. One possible way of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an inofficial capacity. His task might comprise the following:

a) to approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further development, and put forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of uranium or for the United States;

b) to speed up the experimental work,which is at present being carried on within the limits of the budgets of University Laboratories, by providing funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with private persons who are willing to make contrib utions for this cause, and perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial aboratories which have the necessary equipment.

I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. That she should have taken such an early action might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, von Weizsacker, is attached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute in Berlin where some of the American work on uranium is now being repeated.

Yours very truly,
Signature
(Albert Einstein)


Albert Einstein's second letter [actually the fourth] to Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 25, 1945.

Albert Einstein
112 Mercer Street
Princeton, New Jersey
March 25, 1945
The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt
The President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I am writing you to introduce Dr. L. Szilard who proposes to submit to you certain considerations and recommendations. Unusual circumstances which I shall describe further below induce me to take this action in spite of the fact that I do not know the substance of the considerations and recommendations which Dr. Szilard proposes to submit to you.

In the summer of 1939 Dr. Szilard put before me his views concerning the potential importance of uranium for national defense. He was greatly disturbed by the potentialities involved and anxious that the United States Government be advised of them as soon as possible. Dr. Szilard, who is one of the discovers of the neutron emission of uranium on which all present work on uranium is based, described to me a specific system which he devised and which he thought would make it possible to set up a chain reaction in unseparated uranium in the immediate future. Having known him for over twenty years both for his scientific work and personally, I have much confidence in his judgment and it was on the basis of his judgment as well as my own that I took the liberty to approach you in connection with this subject. You responded to my letter dated August 2, 1939 by the appointment of a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Briggs and thus started the Government's activity in this field.

The terms of secrecy under which Dr. Szilard is working at present do not permit him to give me information about his work; however, I understand that he now is greatly concerned about the lack of adequate contact between scientists who are doing this work and those members of your Cabinet who are responsible for formulating policy. In the circumstances I consider it my duty to give Dr. Szilard this introduction and I wish to express the hope that you will be able to give his presentation of the case your personal attention.

Yours very truly,
Signature
(Albert Einstein)


Further reading...

"A Critical Look at the Bush Administration Energy Department’s Nuclear Weapons Complex and the First Decade of Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship"

"E-Weapons: Directed Energy Warfare In The 21st Century"

"More Than 470 Physicists Sign Petition To Oppose U.S. Policy On Nuclear Attack"

"Nuclear Options"

"Our Hidden WMD Program/Why Bush is spending so much on nuclear weapons"


Additional materials...

See this other "Philosophy of Science Portal" blog topic:

Andrei Sakharov vs Edward Teller


An audio presentation from NPR:

"Scientists Work on New Nuclear Weapons"


Free online book:

The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn't Matter—and What Does