Wars and ConflictsΒ permalink
Einsteins quote on atomic bombs
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Message 1.Β
Posted by systemlover (U1843406) on Thursday, 11th August 2005
i rememebr watching a program on the atomic bombs in japan, and the first one i saw there was a quote at the beggining of the program and i cant seem to find it anywhere i would be REALLY gratefull if someone could find it for me? or help me look for it? this isent for a project this is for my personaly knowledge.
THANKS -
Message 2
Posted by DL (U1683040) on Thursday, 11th August 2005
Just wondering whether it was the quote by Robert Oppenheimer you were thinking of?
He is supposed to have remarked "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" when he saw the first test explosion in Nevada.
If this is the one you mean, it originates from an ancient Hindu text, but I don't know which one I'm afraid (but there are many on this board who have much more knowledge on such things!)
Cheers
DL -
Message 3
Posted by Dirk Marinus (U1648073) on Thursday, 11th August 2005
systemlover,
Are you perhaps referring to his statement of:
" If I had known that my theories would lead to such destruction ,I would rather have been a watchmaker"
As you possible know ,he died in April 1955 and to the end he abhorred the terrifying means of annihilation which the nuclear physicists had set loose on the world. -
Message 4
Posted by Kilted Man (U1729936) on Saturday, 13th August 2005
Another great quote of his was
'I don't know what weapons the Third World War will be fought with, but I know that the Fourth World War will be fought with bows and arrows.'
He is referring to the destructiveness of nuclear bombs. The survivors (if any) would be blasted back to the Stone Age.
Einstien was a remarkable human being, and was genuinely horrified that his beloved physics and theories were used to create something so deplorable as a nuclear bomb.
C.K -
Message 5
Posted by Giselle-Leah (U1725276) on Monday, 15th August 2005
On a more spiritual level, Einstein's quote about God translated from the German is "Subtle is the Lord, malicious he is not."
I just love this and think about it as it is extremely reassuring for me in trying times. To me this says that regardless of how intelligent "Man" becomes, we will never know if God exists, so there is no point in trying to prove or disprove it, and whatever happens to us that is utterly inexplicable, this is Einstein's way of dealing with it. Eight simple words, a world of meaning. Wonderful.
DaughterLeah -
Message 6
Posted by KI4HDO (U14075016) on Sunday, 19th July 2009
I'm discussing the use of the A-Bomb on japan I took a little time to think about this and I decided that using the bomb on Japan was the right thing to do at that time, My reason . Japan
to me thinks that they can go into any country and start a war simply because they need something from that country to live, They have no reguard to human life but there own and have shown this many other times China, Manchuria, and several other countries . they are brutal on people and don't care how they take over Chop your head off, shoot little babies, bayonet little babies, Rape of civilian women and many other ugly ways to take life. So yes to the A-bomb this would slow them down and make them think twice before jumping into another country
for greed. Seems to me that they just want there own way no matter what stands in there way. Time to get a grip Japan, You just can't do that anymore. Your lucky the U.S.A.didn't exterminate
your race You were very mean to people other then your own -
Message 7
Posted by VF (U5759986) on Thursday, 23rd July 2009
I'm discussing the use of the A-Bomb on japan I took a little time to think about this and I decided that using the bomb on Japan was the right thing to do at that time,Β
Ok........
Japan
to me thinks that they can go into any country and start a war simply because they need something from that country to live, They have no reguard to human life but there own and have shown this many other times China, Manchuria, and several other countries . they are brutal on people and don't care how they take over Chop your head off, shoot little babies, bayonet little babies, Rape of civilian women and many other ugly ways to take life.Β
There were certainly many atrocities,but are you saying that every japanese national was responsible? Dont get me wrong ,crimes undertaken in the name of Japan were reprehensible.
So yes to the A-bomb this would slow them down and make them think twice before jumping into another countryΒ
By the time the A-bomb was dropped I doubt the japanese had enough oil or fuel to undertake a fishing trip let alone another invasion.They wouldnt have surrendered on home soil but thats a different issue to what you are suggesting.
Seems to me that they just want there own way no matter what stands in there wayΒ
Name an empire that didnt! And no empire has been benevolent
Your lucky the U.S.A.didn't exterminate
your race You were very mean to people other then your ownΒ
Now you are being silly......
Hang on
wait a minute
Buckskins....
is that you!
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Message 8
Posted by Grumpyfred (U2228930) on Thursday, 23rd July 2009
On this subject, we are told that the U S built the first atomic bomb. But did they? How many of the people that worked on the weapon were from the U S. British Scientists were part of the team,(Indeed it was a British team that first split the atom) along with many from that had fled Europe.
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Message 9
Posted by LairigGhru (U5452625) on Friday, 24th July 2009
I suspect the Einstein quote in msg 3 was probably the one the OP was meaning, mbut the Oppenheimer one mentioned in msg 2 came from the Bhagavad Gita.
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Message 10
Posted by Old Hermit (U2900766) on Friday, 24th July 2009
Well they built it and exploded it on their territory but you're right about a lot of the work going into the idea of an atom bomb and the foundations of atomic research being done in the UK. A lot of stuff that is claimed as an "American" invention often have their beginnings in other nations i.e the Jet Engine, the Apollo missions etc.
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Message 11
Posted by U3280211 (U3280211) on Friday, 24th July 2009
Re: Grumpy Fred (8)
On this subject, we are told that the U S built the first atomic bomb. But did they? Β
That is an excellent question GF but one that is really difficult to answer.
It's worth recalling that science is an international activity and German, Danish, Hungarian, Austrian, American and British scientists were sharing research on fission right up until 1939. Even after the war started in Europe, scientific periodicals still published highly sensitive articles, much to the chagrin of security experts on all sides.
Hitler's obvious anti-semitism (which lead to the sacking of Jewish physicists from German research teams) gave Britain and America a huge advantage here as emigre 'enemy aliens' started to become absorbed into both American (Princeton, Chicago, Met Lab. and UCD) and British Labs (Imperial, Cambridge, Birmingham).
Until late 1941 the British MAUD team and "Tube Alloys" group were probably in the lead and could be said to have bump-started the US drive for a bomb (as opposed to just a reactor).
Another factor is that not everyone who said they were working for either Britain or America actually had their paymaster's aims uppermost in their minds.
For example, Klaus Fuchs (once German) worked for the British team with Alan Nunn May. Theo Hall and David Greengalss worked for the Americans but all of them were, in their hearts, actually Russian agents.
James Chadwick was a key player and he was certainly British but how would you classify Rudolf Peirels, Lise Meitner, Otto Frisch, Edward Teller, Leo Szillard and Eugene Wigner? By the places of their birth (Hungary, mostly) or where they ended up and the 'sides' they were on?
General Groves disliked the Brits and was worried about their team knowing too much, so, from 1943 onwards, his interest in security eventually shut the Brits out of key elements of the bomb programme. The FBI had doubts about Oppenheimer's 'left-leaning' too.
The US had the money and the space but they could not have made a bomb without European brains.
Since your question and this response to it do not relate directly to a thread on Einstein, I'll open another thread on the 'bomb' itself. -
Message 12
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Friday, 24th July 2009
I still prefer the Cold War statement,
'After a thermonuclear war the only ones left will be the politicians and the generals - and serve them right!'
Trouble is I can't remember who said it. -
Message 13
Posted by RedGuzzi750 (U7604797) on Tuesday, 28th July 2009
"The Making of the Atomic Bomb" - Richard Rhodes. Pretty good summing up of the whole shooting match.
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