A history teacher of mine in high school gave us an interesting lecture about the development of nuclear weaponry and power once. There were to claims that I found really interesting, but have not been able to verify through my internet searches.
The first, was that there was the day after the trinity nuclear test there was a cryptic message sent to president truman that said something to the effect of: "Works better than we imagined;The hand of god has touched the earth". Did he just make that up?
Also, the idea that in the 40s scientists thought that nuclear power would make energy so cheap that the cost would essentially be negligible.
The first, was that there was the day after the trinity nuclear test there was a cryptic message sent to president truman that said something to the effect of: "Works better than we imagined;The hand of god has touched the earth". Did he just make that up?
The message sent to the President was: "Doctor has just returned most enthusiastic and confident that the little boy is as husky as his big brother. The light in his eyes is discernible from here to Highhold and I could have heard his screams from here to my farm."
"Here to Highhold" is about 200 miles and "here to my farm" was about 40 miles. (They refer to distances of various places from Washington, DC).
I've never heard the "hand of god" thing before.
Also, the idea that in the 40s scientists thought that nuclear power would make energy so cheap that the cost would essentially be negligible.
In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss gave a speech in which he said that: "Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter." It is today invoked as evidence of atomic-age hyperbole, but it should be noted that it never reflected official scientific opinion at that time.