BBC does a series, "The Bomb", starting with Leo Szilard: its authentic first-Father.
BBC podcasts.
#1 begins with narrator, his granddaughter. Szilard is first because: it was he who pondered early-on: How? possibly might one make use of the enormous energy within the nucleus [the Strong-Force being just what it says]. Asking Rutherford re that: "This is moonshine". Szilard was very worried that Hitler would make it to Power, knew well the leadership of German physics: his prime motivation to persevere to a Yes?/No! definite conclusion. ie Had there been no LS just then--history would have been quite different.
(Fermi once described LZ as ~one of the smartest persons he knew of). This is a decent tale-telling as with minimal physics, one can grok-sufficiently why (again: a LS deduction entirely, prescient in fact) a chain reaction was conceivable wherein a neutron hit [in some suitable *Element] would need merely a generation of two or more neutrons for the scheme to work: the simplest of an exponential process.
* Note that Otto Hahn, Strassman had yet to discover fission: thus exacly Which-Element (And isotope) to begin serious work. The Dates are handy refreshers of time-spans from LS's first inklings ... Manhattan Project.
Weaving this Opener amidst various Boffins, following steps-in-LS's mind --> thence to the Einstein --> FDR letter, will reveal if you know all this stuff (but might pass it on: as it is good tale-telling) with just enough specifics to remind those who have that history cooled (I grabbed the first book by Gladstone at age ~14, a popular explanation du jour). It lacked that History though. [Note A.E.'s response to LS's presentation] == after he had done experiments with a 0N1 source + oscilloscope, revealing process: Works.
Bon appetít, fellow Imperiled-bipeds ... recalling the Bag-man + The Moron-child
en delicto flagrante, most any old hour.
#1 begins with narrator, his granddaughter. Szilard is first because: it was he who pondered early-on: How? possibly might one make use of the enormous energy within the nucleus [the Strong-Force being just what it says]. Asking Rutherford re that: "This is moonshine". Szilard was very worried that Hitler would make it to Power, knew well the leadership of German physics: his prime motivation to persevere to a Yes?/No! definite conclusion. ie Had there been no LS just then--history would have been quite different.
(Fermi once described LZ as ~one of the smartest persons he knew of). This is a decent tale-telling as with minimal physics, one can grok-sufficiently why (again: a LS deduction entirely, prescient in fact) a chain reaction was conceivable wherein a neutron hit [in some suitable *Element] would need merely a generation of two or more neutrons for the scheme to work: the simplest of an exponential process.
* Note that Otto Hahn, Strassman had yet to discover fission: thus exacly Which-Element (And isotope) to begin serious work. The Dates are handy refreshers of time-spans from LS's first inklings ... Manhattan Project.
Weaving this Opener amidst various Boffins, following steps-in-LS's mind --> thence to the Einstein --> FDR letter, will reveal if you know all this stuff (but might pass it on: as it is good tale-telling) with just enough specifics to remind those who have that history cooled (I grabbed the first book by Gladstone at age ~14, a popular explanation du jour). It lacked that History though. [Note A.E.'s response to LS's presentation] == after he had done experiments with a 0N1 source + oscilloscope, revealing process: Works.
Bon appetít, fellow Imperiled-bipeds ... recalling the Bag-man + The Moron-child
en delicto flagrante, most any old hour.
