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Edward Teller - The end of the war in Europe but not in the Pacific (87/147)

2,429 views · Published 26 September 2017 · 2:13 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Science & Technology

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Hungarian-American physicist, Edward Teller (1908-2003), helped to develop the atomic bomb and provided the theoretical framework for the hydrogen bomb. He remained a staunch advocate of nuclear power, calling for the development of advanced thermonuclear weapons. [Listener: John H. Nuckolls]
 
TRANSCRIPT: In the meantime the war proceeded and the war ended in Europe. Remember, in the spring of 1945, the Nazis were finally defeated, Hitler committed suicide and there was peace. But not in the Pacific. There the fighting was continuing. Around that time, end of June 1945, I got a very interesting letter from my good friend, Szilárd, the very man who got the enterprise started in the United States. Now he said- The dangers of Nazi atomic bombs are gone. We are approaching the ability to make atomic bombs. What shall we do? Is it necessary to use them? Shall we use them? Would it be better perhaps first to demonstrate? A number of us in Chicago are submitting a request that a bomb should not be used against the Japanese without prior demonstration. Would you collect signatures for that proposal in Los Alamos?

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