ATOMIC POWER!

[Music] [Music] on August 5th 1945 in the 6th year of the Second World War um destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima [Music] it's stone edged by heat which reached thousands of degrees a monument recorded the passage of the blast and burned into the pavement was the silhouette of one of the many who perished on that fateful day throughout the world the reaction of Preston public to the advent of atomic power was prompting very well let you think of that bomb we drop in the Japs mrs. Glenn oh isn't it terrible hose people killed I don't understand it well it's a great triumph for our American industrial know how science is overstepped of our producing this diabolical weapon the public baffled by talk of protons neutrons isotopes and isobars flocked to atomic exhibits in search of understanding at such exhibits the average person was able to learn such basic facts as that the atom is sub microscopic in size and that the forces which hold it together are the same as those which keep the universe in balance around the particles which form the nucleus of the atom other electrically charged particles called electrons constantly revolve like planets around the Sun it is within the nucleus itself that the cosmic energy is locked to release this energy laboratory machines generating millions of volts bombard the nucleus of the atom with particles usually neutrons driven at enormous speed [Music] [Applause] ethical voltage generated is not sufficiently powerful the particles are deflected [Music] but as the voltage is raised to the proper amount the particles rates the speed at which they are able to spit the nucleus it is the sum total of millions of such releases of energy that make up this new source of power but that this type of power will soon become available to the average citizen is disclaimed by scientists like Harper's James B Conant and leading industrial facilities I take it passive whele you fail this question of trying to beat the radiation by shielding is just one of those problems that no matter how much research you did on it looks inside that right the fundamental principles of the process just simply limit us on what we can do well therefore that looks then I take everybody's agreed that the use of this power for automobiles and planes seems to be out of the question for technical reasons [Applause] the key to the atoms secrets was first given to the world in nineteen five when the genius Albert Einstein defined the relation between all matter and energy and evolved his revolutionary theory of special relativity then in 1919 Lord Rutherford confirmed Einstein's theory by smashing the nitrogen atom by 1934 italy's and rico Fermi and Francis Fredrick Giulio had made substantial progress meanwhile in America scientists like Arthur H Compton pero si you're a and Ernest Oh Lawrence were carrying on intensive research in 1939 Lisa Meitner exiled from Germany computed the results which could be obtained from splitting uranium in January of the same year at George Washington University whose staff had long been alert to developments on atomic research scientists from several nations gathered for a routine conference heard a report of startling significance word had just come through from Germany by way of Denmark that the German physicist Hahn and Strassman have just verified that the uranium atom under Neutron bombardment actually splits into two parts to the scientists this dramatic news brought a great sense of urgency summoning his assistant dr. Moreau a tube of the Carnegie Institution went at once to his laboratory simultaneously with scientists at Columbia California and Johns Hopkins - and his colleagues succeeded within 48 hours in checking the reported findings of the German physicist killer lights no longer any doubt about it that uranium is splitting into at least two big parts those biggest kicks are nearly a hundred million electron volts the results verified Columbia University's dr. George B Pegram called these developments to the attention of the Navy Department in Washington yes yes we'll be very glad to explain to your people just what the military possibilities this uranium fission may prove to be but to the Navy Department these laboratory experiments seem to be of no immediate importance very interesting doctor keep us informed doctor Pegram concentrated on research at Columbia University working under his supervision were dr. Leo Szilard and dr. Fermi who were laying the groundwork for a chain reaction in uranium encouraged by their successful progress salar discussed with dr. Einstein in the summer of 1939 the results of their findings and stressed the urgent need for action by the US government conscious of the disaster which would inevitably follow if Nazi Germany should be the first to succeed in releasing atomic energy dr. Einstein decided to write a personal letter to the president [Music] within a few days the historic Einstein letter was taken to Washington by a New York economist Alexander Sachs who through close acquaintance with mr. Roosevelt's advisors had easy access to the White House the letter was immediately brought to the attention of a president [Applause] recognizing the critical significance of Einsteins message President Roosevelt signed an order appointing the director of the National Bureau of Standards dr. Lyman J Briggs as chairman of a special Advisory Committee on uranium after only one meeting the committee was able to report that an atomic bomb was a definite possibility [Music] by the following year the entire US program of uranium research had been placed under the supervision of dr. banner bur Bush able director of the Office of scientific research and development in December 1941 with the United States at war doctor pigrome returned from a fact-finding trip to England and reported his findings to dr. Bush the Germans are certainly working on an atomic bomb as Harold Urey told you we learned that they have been receiving the whole output of the big Norwegian heavy water plant they couldn't have been using it for anything else what was your impression of British progress Chadwick and the other physicists agree entirely with us that given pure uranium-235 we can make a bomb that'll work they are also confident that it'll be practicable to obtain the uranium-235 but they realize that it will run into a big industrial job England is over text at the present time and the British are all in favor of having a job done on this side of the water well we're now all fighting the same war I'm going to see the president tomorrow I'm sure that he will agree that the job has got to be done and it will get the support that we need with presidential backing for an all-out research program contracts were led to a dozen laboratories for exhaustive study of every method of any hope of success in September 1942 on recommendation of dr. Bush the US Army engineers newly created Manhattan district under Major General Leslie a groves was assigned the task of expanding the laboratory experiments into huge industrial projects meanwhile at the University of Chicago in a secret laboratory set up within the walls of the stadium squash courts a dangerous and partly unpredictable experiment was undertaken dr. Fermi and his assistants after months of arduous preparation achieved the first controlled chain reaction in uranium fishing [Music] [Applause] the way was now cleared for the practical application of atomic power to the nation's war effort at Oak Ridge Tennessee at Hanford Washington and at Los Alamos New Mexico mammoth plants were built for the production of all materials and atomic bombs [Applause] to staff these establishments thousands of able young scientists and technicians were called in to service yes that's all a que Oakridge all right I'll be there virtually isolated from the outside world new communities sprang up almost overnight as top priority materials and manpower were made available for the secret project Oak Ridge Tennessee with 75,000 people quickly became the fifth largest city in the state mobilized to carry out the most formidable engineering job in history were thousands of the nation's industrial firms of every size and type to keep the most closely-guarded secret of the war technicians and even scientists were strictly limited to knowledge of the specific tasks to which they were assigned [Music] working on seemingly unrelated jobs many employees were not even sure producing anything and few workers had any conception of the fabulous costs involved here it is general girls plutonium well that's the first time I've seen it but if you don't mind I wish you'd hold that under it because after all there's about 50 million dollars in that test finally after three years work and an expenditure of two billion dollars the atomic experts were ready to test their first bomb before dawn on July 16th 1945 at the Alamogordo Army Air Base in New Mexico a small band of military and civilian technicians waited nervously two minutes ago stretched out on the sand tensely expectant for general groves dr. Busch and dr. Conan in the control shack was dr. jay Oppenheimer who assisted by dr. Ravi and others had directed the making of the bomb itself the automatic controls direct now Rob this time stakes are really high it's going to work alright Robert and I'm sure we'll never be sorry for it but when 40 seconds we'll know [Music] - Chinese five seconds you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] today by every means of publicity US scientists are seeking to arouse Americans to a realization that humanity cannot survive misuse of atomic power from Princeton New Jersey the emergency committee of Atomic Scientists headed by dr. Einstein has issued an urgent appeal for funds with which to educate the public we scientists who released this immense power have overwhelming responsibility in this world life-and-death struggle to harness atom we ask your help in this fateful moment as sign that we scientists do not stand alone a key aim of scientists today is to bring home to the public a realization of the magnitude of an atomic bomb explosions and the fact that this sudden destruction can be delivered anywhere on earth by a single plane that a bomb could be brought into a seaport by a ship and detonated by radio cognisant to the potential threat to humanity in the unrestricted use of atomic power dr. Busch and dr. Conant accepted appointments to a State Department committee headed by undersecretary Dean Acheson out of the work of this group and David II lilienthal's Board of consultants came a report upon which was based the us plan for international control which bernard faroux proposed to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission the American position has expressed by Baruch and his advisors has received overwhelming support from a maturity of the nation's the sakes of science for the absolute weapon has reached fruition in this country but we stand ready to destroy this instrument to lift it from death to life if the world will join in an effective and waking system let us not deceive ourselves we must select world peace or world destruction today the whole world fears the ultimate devastation which a war of atomic weapons could bring and the United States is prepared to cooperate fully in eliminating by world agreement and for all time the nightmare of atomic war [Music]