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usonian

(24,448 posts)
35. He regretted one thing.
Tue Feb 24, 2026, 03:03 PM
Tuesday
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240801-it-was-the-one-great-mistake-in-my-life-the-letter-from-einstein-that-ushered-in-the-age-of-the-atomic-bomb

On 2 August 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to the US President Franklin D Roosevelt. His letter would result in the Manhattan Project, and one of history's most significant – and destructive – inventions.

The dramatic account of the lethal harnessing of atomic power told in the 2023 blockbuster film Oppenheimer might have been nothing more than science fiction had a two-page letter, dated 2 August 1939, never been written.

"Recent work in nuclear physics made it probable that uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy," reads a typed letter to US President Franklin D Roosevelt signed by hand by the esteemed physicist Albert Einstein. (and Leo Szilard) This energy, he continues, could be used "for the construction of extremely powerful bombs".


And look who has become Shiva, destroyer of worlds, now.

Recommendations

1 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

That's how science works... QueerDuck Tuesday #1
Well said. niyad Tuesday #3
Exactly, "...the way the textbooks promised" sounds like something a pseudo-scientist would say William Seger Tuesday #7
KNR niyad Tuesday #2
Be a heck of a thing if the Continuous Universe thing came back. Girard442 Tuesday #4
The eternal universe model never left. AZ8theist Tuesday #16
Not happening... VMA131Marine Tuesday #29
I read Fred Hoyle early on. usonian Tuesday #30
His novel, "The Black Cloud" was quite entertaining. Girard442 Tuesday #31
DA FUCK? A crisis like this and there ain't nobody doin' nuthin' 'bout it? 3Hotdogs Tuesday #5
Everyone is distracted by the Epstein Files...🤪 MiHale Tuesday #6
And the answer isn't even in the Trumpstein Files at all! Layzeebeaver Tuesday #26
Celebrate the evolution of cosmological crisis management. Marcuse Tuesday #8
He was right. Historic NY Tuesday #11
Not really a crisis edhopper Tuesday #9
Yeah, but putting the word "crisis" in the headline makes for more clicks... Wounded Bear Tuesday #15
Cosmologists are obviously just "Crisis Actors" Layzeebeaver Tuesday #27
LOL... Wounded Bear Tuesday #28
For goodness sake, just ask AI StarryNite Tuesday #10
Who'd have thought the universe is infinite and timeless Clouds Passing Tuesday #12
Me!!! LymphocyteLover Tuesday #14
Infinite time and space is hard to comprehend. multigraincracker Tuesday #21
. . . John1956PA Tuesday #25
very cool! But does anyone know what that little cartoon image is, in the middle of the cover picture? It looks like a LymphocyteLover Tuesday #13
That's the James Webb Telescope (JWT)... Wounded Bear Tuesday #18
That's the James Webb Space Telescope. AZ8theist Tuesday #19
Thanks! I had no idea that's what it looked like LymphocyteLover Tuesday #37
You're welcome! AZ8theist Tuesday #42
wow, thanks! It's a very impressive device LymphocyteLover Yesterday #43
We haven't been around very long in terms of what we see as the age of the Cosmos. patphil Tuesday #17
We are in a race between discovery and self-annihilation. LuvLoogie Tuesday #20
As Albert Einstein famously said... Pluvious Tuesday #33
it has to! LymphocyteLover Tuesday #38
Compared to the Universe (13.8 billion years): Humans have been present for roughly 0.002%... Ol Janx Spirit Tuesday #22
To paraphrase John Prine: Bo Zarts Tuesday #23
You have to appreciate real science Farmer-Rick Tuesday #24
The science fiction writers were right. usonian Tuesday #32
Another astute observation... Pluvious Tuesday #34
He regretted one thing. usonian Tuesday #35
Whoa... Pluvious Tuesday #36
Being interested in science from practically day one, I knew about this all along. usonian Tuesday #40
That's a powerful list, thanks for sharing (nt) Pluvious Tuesday #41
'They're LYING TO YOU !' NeoTrajan Tuesday #39
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