COMMENTS:
Einstein knew the Nazi were working on a nuclear program (which they were) too.
Voted : We'll just have to wait and see
He helped us keep going for a while. Only time will tell if we destroy ourselves.
No, the genie was out of the bottle as soon as Rutherford split the atom (even if he himself didn't realise the power of atomic bonds).
Einstein did not develop the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer did. Einstein merely pointed out to FDR that it was possible and that Germany was likely to develop one. That is his extent of involvement.
So maybe you should rephrase the question and ask about Oppenheimer.
Einstein did a great deal of good things and I cannot really see how he may have "doomed the world".
Voted : No
It's not the inventor or discoverer that dooms the world, it's the ones who use those inventions and discoveries for ill results.
I can blame the Wright brothers for napalm dropping planes as good as I can credit them for space travel.
Voted : We'll just have to wait and see
He only laid out the groundwork first. Without Einstein, someone else would've put it all together.
Voted : No
No, Einstein wasn't thinking of a bomb when he came up with E=MC2, and was surprised at first when someone mentioned a bomb at a lecture. The bomb would have been invented regardless at some point in time.
FFLSD, The question is *Did Einstine doom humanity with his physics...*, I didn't say he invented the bomb. His work is paramount in the development of nuclear technology and his letter to FDR proposing the US pursue the technology was instrumental to it's development.
The NAZI's were developing the technology and since nuclear weapons weren't used to defeat Hitler, then the development was unnecessary for a European victory.
So, Did Einstein doom humanity with his physics?
Come on peeps, this is a prediction ballot. Don't take the I'd hate to be wrong approach with We'll have to wait and see. It's yes or no.
He wasn't "paramount" in the development of atomic weapons. Not in the least.
I will use his own words: "My participation in the production of the atomic bomb consisted of one single act: I signed a letter to President Roosevelt . . . in which I emphasized the necessity of conducting large-scale experimentation with regard to the feasibility of producing an atom bomb. . . I saw no alternative but to act as I did, although I have always been a convinced pacifist." AND even this he deeply regretted having done. He called it his "one great mistake".
He opposed its use, the only exception being to demonstrate the weapon to foreign government rather than to ever actually use it. In the mid 40s he worked hard with other atomic scientist to educate people on the implications of nuclear energy and the absolute necessity of NOT developing nuclear weapons. In the 50s he worked with other scientists like Bertrand Russell in a project to reverse the massive nuclear arms build-up that was occurring as a result of the "cold war". The Russell-Einstein Manifesto warned of the peril of nuclear weapons and the dangers of continuing an arms race and called upon Congress, scientists and the general public to join in a resolution. The Russell Einstein Manifesto resolved: "In view of the fact that in any future world war nuclear weapons will certainly be employed, and that such weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind, we urge the Governments of the world to realize, and to acknowledge publicly, that their purpose cannot be furthered by a world war, and we urge them, consequently, to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them."
"His physics" didn't doom anyone. There are often rather silly claims in some history books that the whole e=mc squared stuff led to the development of the bomb or that somehow he had a massive role (to the point of being mythic) in developing atomic weapons. Nothing is further from the truth. He did absolutely zero work on the development of the atomic bomb. He didn't even do the theoretical work or research. This was done by Teller, Oppenheimer, Rutherford, Fermi, Leó Szilárd, Neils Bohr, and many others. They did the theoretical studies, published research and the like years before the Manhattan Project began. Einstein had no real role in the discovery of nuclear fission - which is what is necessary to do develop an atom bomb.
I'm sorry and I don't like saying this, but your grasp of the history of physics and research in this field is lacking, to put it mildly. I'll lay it all out for you in excruciating detail if need be. The ballot assumption is completely faulty.
*In the mid 40s he worked hard with other atomic scientist to educate people on the implications of nuclear energy*
With one statement you affirm the physics and knowledge he possessed. He did formulate the the physics that made nuclear energy a reality.
History states :
*Mass-energy equivalence (E = mc2) soon followed providing an explanation for the energy source of the stars, the sun and the recently discovered radioactivity, also later to pave the way for the energy source of the atomic bomb and nuclear power.
Einstein writes to President Roosevelt alerting the President to the importance of research on nuclear chain reactions and the possibility that research might lead to developing powerful bombs.
His famous postulation of an energy-mass equation, which states that a particle of matter can be converted into an enormous quantity of energy, had its spectacular proof in the creation of the atomic and hydrogen bombs, the most destructive weapons ever known.
At all this Einstein said “My joy is indescribable.”
Seems reasonable to me that Einstein Physics made it all happen!
*I'm sorry and I don't like saying this, but your grasp of the history of physics and research in this field is lacking, to put it mildly. I'll lay it all out for you in excruciating detail if need be. The ballot assumption is completely faulty.*
Says you. Spout all the hoop plah you want, it don't mean history is wrong because you say so.
*There are often rather silly claims in some history books that the whole e=mc squared stuff led to the development of the bomb or that somehow he had a massive role (to the point of being mythic) in developing atomic weapons. Nothing is further from the truth.*
Geez, Hear ye all, FFLSD declares history books lie and he comes to correct the experts from corrupting our feeble minds! Spin. Spin. Spin. Give it up man.
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