Institution Department Class Lecturer Student name Student number Assignment Due date

: Chu Hai College of Higher Education : English : Global History : Mr. James Walsh : Francis Chu Chi Fung : 201212234H : Essay 2 : 2/1/2014

Einsteins Dilemma: Was he doing the right thing when he wrote to President Roosevelt?

Einstein is widely regarded as the greatest scientist in the 20th century.

The classic

equation E=mc2 is a telling evidence of Einsteins ingenuity, as he had managed to simplify the complicated relation between two seemingly unrelated quantities (mass and energy) into a simple equation that is about one inch long, yet carries with it tremendous impact to the human race, as we shall see in the following paragraphs.

Although Einstein was celebrated by many for his scientific accomplishments, he had one regret in his life that would come to haunt him for the rest of his lifesigning a letter informing then President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt of the development of the atomic bomb by Nazi Germany.

How did Einstein contribute to the development of the atomic bomb by Nazi Germany? The fact is that Einstein, being a pacifist, never actually took part in the development of the atomic bomb. His famous equation E=mc2, however, laid the foundation for the development of the atomic bomb.

Without going through all the fancy scientific jargons and intimidating calculations, Einstein equation simply suggests that mass and energy are in fact two sides of the same coini.e. mass-energy equivalence.

The equation also shows that colossal amount of energy can be generated from only a tiny bit of mass. This is truly a remarkable discovery, as the equation implies that everything around us is in fact a source of enormous energy.

The potential application was especially tempting to Hitler, as he may be able to create the most destructive bomb the world has ever seen through nuclear fission, which means the splitting of a nucleus. This would help him tremendously in completing his grand plan of wiping out the Jews and ruling the world.

Nevertheless, there is one problemthat it always takes more energy than it gains in

nuclear fission. In other words, the energy required to split the nucleus of an atom is simply too great. Einstein had once said in a press conference that the likelihood of transforming matter into energy is akin to shooting birds in the dark in a country where there are few birds. Certainly, Einstein believed that the conversion of matter into energy is but a theoretical idea only.

Not Leo Szilard though. In 1939, the Hungarian physicist had figured out what Einstein deemed impossiblehe discovered that by using the neutron instead of the alpha particle, it was possible to initiate nuclear fission without great expenditure in energy. Szilard soon became worried that if he alone could figure out the solution to this problem, then it would only be a matter of time before his colleague in Germany would arrive at the same answer. Therefore, in the August of 1939, he decided to pay a visit to Einstein to explain the possibility of nuclear fission, and urge him to write a letter to President Roosevelt informing him what the Nazi had been doing all along.

Imagine the burden Einstein was carrying when he pondered over Szilards clever suggestion of how nuclear fission could actually be achieved, and realizing that billions of lives could be killed if the bomb was in the wrong hand, namely Hitlerall because of his one-inch long equation E=mc2. Einstein was faced with one of the

biggest question in his lifewhat can I do to stop Hitler?

Szilards suggestion of writing a letter to Roosevelt did not seem too appealing to Einstein at first, as he insisted that scientist should never be concerned with war. However, after realizing what Hitler would do once he had an atomic bomb, he decided to warn Roosevelt.

Of course now we know that Nazi Germany never went on to create an atomic bomb. However, never would Einstein realize that it was America who would build the worlds first atomic bomb and use it on Japan. Had Einstein not written that letter to President Roosevelt, America may never have built an atomic bomb.

So, had Einstein made a mistake when he decided to write the letter to Roosevelt? Should we blame him for that one-inch long equation that inadvertently caused the pursue of an atomic bomb by Nazi Germany and later America?

Yes and no.

Indeed, Einstein was wrong when he assumed that America would remain neutral and

resist actually using the bomb once it was built. In a sense, this is a testament to Einsteins pacifism; sadly, there are few pacifists in the world.

However, it can also be said that the situation called for Einsteins writing the letter to Roosevelt. It was very likely that Germany would be able to produce an atomic bomb at that time, and the only deterrent was for America to make one first. If Einstein, who was and still is one the most brilliant mind ever to grace the earth, could not figure out an alternative way, than there probably were no other better alternatives.

Furthermore, blaming Einstein for his work is simply unjust. It is clear that Einstein absolutely wanted no association between his scientific work and politics or wars. As a scientist, he had every reason to research, complete and finish his scientific work. However, he had no control over how people applied his work.

Ultimately, I believe that Einstein was doing the right thing under his particular circumstance. It is true that his famous equation indeed paved the way for the creation of the atomic bomb. However, it would be impossible for Einstein to predict that one day his equation would be applied to build an atomic bomb, when he always believed that the equation would not be applicable in real life.