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Essay / Building the Atomic Bomb: History of Atomic War
The impact of advances in physics between 1900 and 1938 could never have been predicted at the time of their discovery. The discoveries made would change not only the world of physics, but also the world as a whole. As advances were made in fission, atoms, and atomic energy, government officials now had to take the possibility of atomic war into consideration when developing international policies. The first of the great world powers to realize the military use of the discoveries of physics was Germany. Soon after, the United States and Britain would begin organizing research teams in the field of fission and nuclear warfare. The fate of these research projects was constantly in question. The decision of Germany, the United States and Britain to continue their research would be influenced by many factors, including the research progress of other countries, each country's confidence in its ability to complete the atomic bomb and the confidence of each country in the incapacity of others. country to produce the atomic bomb. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The discovery of fission, in December 1938, would mark the beginning of the world's quest to unleash the power of the atom and formulate a way to use it. power for atomic war. This discovery, made in Germany, gave the Germans a head start on the extensive research that remained to be done to produce an atomic bomb. This advantage will soon prove short-lived. While this discovery stunned the physics world, it also caused great concern among many physicists and government officials because of its implications for atomic warfare. This fear would become the most fundamental reason why the United States and Britain would pursue atomic research, especially for military purposes. Germany was not only aware of the pressure it was putting, in the form of fear, on other countries, but also of the research that was starting from this fear. Germany's ignorance of this research allowed the German research project to continue at the same pace and escape pressure from other countries2. Without pressure from other countries, Germany had a false sense of security, allowing the urgent need to begin research to be ignored. For many years, the best physicists and scientists have studied and trained in Germany, due to its unrivaled reputation as the best place for scientific research. education and training available3. After completing their studies, many scientists chose to stay in Germany to do research or teach. Before 1933, this would have provided Germany with an invaluable source of information and ideas, but growing anti-Semitic attitudes in Germany forced many scientists to flee the country. Among the refugees fleeing Hitler's anti-Semitism were some of the most crucial contributors to the development of the atomic bomb, such as Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard4. Leo Slizard fled Germany on March 31, 19335, when he traveled to Britain where he designed his neural chain reaction. Slizard continued his research at Oxford in Britain until 1938, when he moved to New York in anticipation and fear of the outbreak of World War II. After moving to New York, Slizard and Eugene Wigner began working on plans..