ATOM BOMB

The Creator of the Atom Bomb

The Creator of the Atom Bomb

Introduction

This paper will discuss the creator of the Atom Bomb. The young Albert Einstein formulated the theory of relativity, discovered the equation E = mc2 and clarified the foundations of quantum mechanics. The atomic bomb and nuclear energy were possible because of Einstein's advances in science and technology and his famous theory of E = mc2 (Brian, 1996).

Discussion

The Atom Bomb and Later Years

In 1939, Einstein learned of research using uranium and nuclear fission to produce an explosive chain reaction. He quickly realized this could lead to massively destructive bombs, and in August 1939, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him that German scientists may already be working on such research. As a result, Roosevelt assembled a board to investigate the possibilities of uranium, but progress was slow (White & Gribbin, 1994). In March 1940, Einstein heard Berlin researchers were making progress in producing chain reactions with the potential of creating huge explosions and again wrote Roosevelt, urging him to speed up research in the United States. In response, Roosevelt called a series of meetings that led to the launch of the Manhattan Project in December 1941.

Roosevelt had invited Einstein to attend the meetings, but he declined, not wanting to get more involved. Even if, he had wanted to become more involved, many considered Einstein a potential security risk, despite his officially becoming a U.S. citizen in June 1940, and he was largely kept in the dark regarding work on the bomb.

In 1944, Einstein began to have second thoughts about what the creation of an atom bomb would mean and encouraged policymakers to rethink their actions. By March 1945, it was clear that Germany did not have a bomb and that the country's defeat was only weeks away. Einstein wrote another letter to Roosevelt, voicing his concerns about dropping a bomb when it might not be necessary to secure victory (Isaacson, 2007). However, Roosevelt did not receive the letter before he died, and on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

When the U.S. government released its report on the development of the bomb, much to Einstein's dismay, it named his 1939 letter to Roosevelt as playing a major role in the launch of the Manhattan Project. Einstein said ...