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In the 1930’s scientists were finding very intriguing things about the use of the atom’s power and atomic fission. Fission is the process by which the nucleus of a heavy element absorbs a neutron, which forces it to split into two nearly equal halves. Scientists discovered that when an atom split, the sum of all the parts it split into did not, in fact, add up to the original mass (weight) of the atom. In fact, well over 99.9% of the mass was accounted for, but some small amount appeared to have vanished. According to Einstein, matter and energy are related. That is, the chair on which you are sitting could turn completely into energy if circumstances were right, and some of the sun’s massive energy output could be converted into matter if conditions were right. In fact, if the chair in which you were sitting were converted entirely into energy, it would be sufficient to destroy the entire solar system—so great is the amount of energy given off when matter undergoes this transformation. Physicists realized that if they could make enough atoms fission they could create huge volumes of energy. Unfortunately, it is far more simple to make one atom of Uranium split than it is to make ten pound of Uranium do the same. What was needed was a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction—a process by which one or a few forced nuclear fissions spawned enough other fissions to keep a reaction going until all the nuclear material was eliminated.
In the late 1930’s, Leo Szilard suddenly realized that a chain reaction might in fact be possible—to the scorn of many of his colleagues. He immediately came to the United States and began requesting research money. Unfortunately, everyone laughed him down. At the time, people were far more worried about the economy and the situation in Europe to be throwing money away on some “lunatic” who thought he could produce a nuclear chain reaction—something that most thought was “clearly” impossible.
Having no one to turn to, Szilard requested a meager $100 from the government (the same government that would later spend $2 billion on the project he helped found). He was flatly rejected. Campaigning through several more highly recognized friends than himself he finally succeeded in convincing FDR to authorize a $100 grant so that Szilard could buy graphite. He felt that, if a nuclear chain reaction was to be controlled and keep from blowing everyone up, something needed to absorb the excess neutrons so that fission didn’t progress too rapidly. He wanted to test graphite, but when he waited for the $100 check, he never got it! Finally, campaigning through Einstein and Fermi, widely recognized scientists of his time, he finally convinced Roosevelt to give him some meager funding on which to do research. About a year later, he and leading physicists of the day succeeded in creating the world’s first (known) nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago. Using huge graphite blocks they prevented the reaction from going supercritical and destroying the campus.
Realizing that this could be turned into a weapon of war, the United States finally took some interest in such research. FDR approved spending but this time the military, out of whose budget this small amount of initial spending came, refused to appropriate it. Months later Roosevelt finally agreed to expand (and force) funding of what was later known as the Manhattan Project.
Thanks to Leo Szilard’s perseverance, we were the first nation to develop atomic power and weaponry. He initiated one of the most famous programs in human history—the project that almost wasn’t. Even when all his friends, and very highly acclaimed scientists—deserted him, he held firm. His reward? He is little known among circles that have heard of Einstein, and Oppenheimer, and Fermi, yet he was the real force behind the project that helped win the war with the Japanese. We all owe Szilard a debt of gratitude.
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