1. T. C. McLuhan, The Way of the Earth, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994, p. 270.
2. D. Bell, quoted by G. T. Seaborg, in The Future of Science, 1975 Nobel Conference, T. C. L. Robinson (Ed.), Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1977, p. 10.
3. M. C. Goodall, Science, Logic, and Political Action, Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., Cambridge, MA, 1970, p. 54.
4. It was Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt which led to the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb. Here is part of what the letter said (J. Ziman, The Force of Knowledge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976, p. 128): “Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in 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 the 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 possible — 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 amounts 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 phenomenon 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, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory….” By most accounts, the famous letter was written by Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner who then convinced Einstein to sign it. However, according to David Sundberg (The Oak Ridger, March 11, 1986, Oak Ridge, TN), Wigner’s account is different. Here is how Sundberg described Wigner’s account in an interview with him: “Leo Szilard who, like Wigner, was born in Hungary, and Wigner made unsuccessful attempts, following the discovery of fission in Germany in 1939, to interest the U.S. government to undertake an atomic ‘chain reaction’ program. Their initial appeals fell on deaf ears. Then Szilard suggested that the two of them approach Einstein, perhaps the only scientist in America whose reputation was sufficient to convince the President to pursue nuclear weapons development. Wigner and Szilard went to Einstein’s summer home on Long Island and spoke to him in German because of the famed mathematician’s poor grasp of English. Einstein may have heard about the announcement of the fissioning of the uranium nucleus shortly before the conversation, but clearly had not heard of the principles involved. Wigner said, that, within 15 minutes, Einstein’ understood it, saw the danger, and dictated a letter which I took down in German, took it back to Princeton, translated it, and had it typed and he signed it.”
5. H. Jonas, The Imperative of Responsibility, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 11, 1984, p. 5.