The First War of Physics: The Secret History of the Atom Bomb, 1939-1949
Jim Baggott
Language: English
Pages: 584
ISBN: 1605981974
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
An epic story of science and technology at the very limits of human understanding: the monumental race to build the first atomic weapons.
Rich in personality, action, confrontation, and deception, The First War of Physics is the first fully realized popular account of the race to build humankind's most destructive weapon. The book draws on declassified material, such as MI6's Farm Hall transcripts, coded soviet messages cracked by American cryptographers in the Venona project, and interpretations by Russian scholars of documents from the soviet archives.
Jim Baggott weaves these threads into a dramatic narrative that spans ten historic years, from the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939 to the aftermath of 'Joe-1,’ August 1949's first Soviet atomic bomb test. Why did physicists persist in developing the atomic bomb, despite the devastation that it could bring? Why, despite having a clear head start, did Hitler's physicists fail? Could the soviets have developed the bomb without spies like Klaus Fuchs or Donald Maclean? Did the allies really plot to assassinate a key member of the German bomb program? Did the physicists knowingly inspire the arms race? The First War of Physics is a grand and frightening story of scientific ambition, intrigue, and genius: a tale barely believable as fiction, which just happens to be historical fact. 24 pages of black-and-white photographs
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Mass of about thirteen tons of U-235. Heisenberg was clearly confused, and it seems that he had at some stage worked on a different line of reasoning, as Hahn now reminded him. ‘But tell me why you used to tell me that one needed 50 kilograms of “235” in order to do anything’, Hahn asked.4 ‘Now you say one needs two tons.’ Heisenberg needed more time to think. ‘I wouldn’t like to commit myself for the moment,’ he said, ‘but it is certainly a fact that the mean free paths are pretty big.’ His.
Two years. The Americans and our own research scientists think it’ll take you seven or eight years. They’re very wrong and I’m delighted.’ Fuchs then handed over a bulky package containing important information on the production of plutonium which he had acquired after he had returned to Britain. ‘Thank you’, Feklisov said simply. ‘My pleasure’, said Fuchs. ‘I shall always be indebted to you.’ Fuchs advised Feklisov of the British decision to embark on an independent bomb programme. Britain’s.
Longer chairman of the GAC. He had stepped down in 1952, largely in frustration, but had been persuaded to continue as a consultant, extending his Q-clearance for at least another year. Strauss had contributed to Eisenhower’s election campaign fund and now moved to sow seeds of doubt in the President’s mind regarding Oppenheimer’s fitness even for his lesser role as consultant. Strauss also encouraged William L. Borden, a young member of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy5 and already deeply.
Remains of the tower structure following the Trinity test explosion. (Digital Photo Archive, Department of Energy (DOE), courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives) 26. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was just one more catastrophe on top of a long list of utter catastrophes, one that brought the war to an end with such a powerful exclamation that it burned into the consciousness of all who lived then, and all who have lived since. This picture shows the mushroom cloud developing.
Berlin. Declaration of war At 4:40am on 1 September 1939 the German Luftwaffe attacked and destroyed the Polish town of Weilun, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. This was merely the first in a series of preludes to a full-scale German invasion. Allied governments declared war on Germany on 3 September. German Army Ordnance hastily consolidated the country’s two uranium research projects and issued call-up papers to selected nuclear scientists. On 16 September the scientists attended a.