On the second day of August 1939, famed physicist Albert Einstein placed his signature upon a letter authored by himself and fellow colleague Leo Szilard. This letter was addressed to then president Franklin D. Roosevelt and contained within it a strict warning that there laid a possibility to set forth a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of Uranium which could unleash an incredible amount of energy that could be used as a new source of power, or as a tool for destruction. Furthermore in this letter, Einstein went on to suggest that this terrifying new prospect may have been within the grasp of Nazi Germany, and its relentless leader Adolf Hitler. This letter had a significant impact on world in that it was the catalyst for starting the nuclear race.
Einstein, famous for his scientific achievements and revolutionary concepts in physics, was a well known advocate for peace. He openly opposed mandatory military service and sought to use his stature to express messages of hope to the governments of the world. It was with great burden that he decided to send this letter, as it would inevitably suggest the American government to reach the milestone of discovering the methods to this hypothesized chain reaction before the Germans did. His fear was that an instrument of war would be made and used to conquer and so he ventured to have the Americas hold this great power as a deterrent to all other nations who would seek to use it for destruction. President Roosevelt, understanding the urgency in Einstein’s message, approved funding for this war research and by December of 1942, a reactor that could sustain the chain reaction of splitting Uranium atoms was constructed. Under the guide of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Manhattan Project was underway. During the testing of the newly constructed bomb, Oppenheimer famously quoted from the Bhagavad Gita when he said “I am become death. Destroyer of worlds.” Oppenheimer knew then the scope of his work. While he saw it as a necessity, he also understood the terro behind it.
By July of 1945 the world witnessed the United States detonate the first Atomic bomb in a test facility and as early as August 6, 1945 the world saw Hiroshima, a city in Japan as the site of the first usage of Atomic weaponry on a population.
The words carried by Einstein’s letter to President Roosevelt had a resounding effect on the condition of the world and its future. We can see through history how this warning led to the succession of events that ultimately claimed the lives of more than 90,000 individuals. Einstein, who wished for not more than a peaceful existence for all man, felt the difficulty in ascertaining the ethical concerns involving the principles of science and discovery. Submitting to a commitment for the advancement of scientific inquiry without holding into view the ethical effects said advancement might birth to the world is akin to withdrawing oneself from the very society they wish to help. With the conjoining of science and government that can be witnessed today the question of ethics becomes much more prevalent and can only be answered on a global scale. While the continued advancement of weaponry, for any nation, can be seen as a promise for defense, it also holds the inescapable potential for destruction. The relationship between science and humanities is prevalent when one considers that all advancements work to benefit or (unintentionally) harm mankind. Scientists are on the precipice of this ethical quandary as their decisions today can mean the continued existence or demise of tomorrow’s people.
No comments:
Post a Comment