爱因斯坦的生死方程式.doc

In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the American President, Franklin Roosevelt. Sir, the element Uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the administration. Extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. The letter was about an application of Einsteins famous equation, e=mc2. And his fear that the Nazis could use it to build an atomic bomb. His letter set off a chain of events which led to the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Albert Einstein would later describe writing this letter as the one mistake of his life. This is the story of his famous equation. And how e=mc2 changed history and Einstein forever. On the eve of Second World War Albert Einstein, the most famous scientist in the world, was on holiday by the coast outside New York. He was an instinctive pacifist who had fled Nazi Germany, and he had hoped to turn his back on the violence in Europe, and continue his work in peace. But his summer was interrupted by a visitor who had also fled the Nazis. The caller was Leo Szilard, another brilliant scientist and an old friend of Einsteins from Europe. Szilard. Herr Professor, there is something we must do. Come in. Leo Szilard had come to persuade his old friend that the world was threatened by a new weapon. His aim was to convince Einstein that something had to be done. Cookie? Herr Professor, I need your help. Why? Are you on the run from the police? I wish it was that simple. I want you to help me compose a letter. Its a long way to come for help with your correspondence. Not this correspondence. Ive never written a letter like this before. Im not even sure what I should say. Who is the letter to? Roosevelt. President Roosevelt. Are you offering advice, or admonition? A warning. I want to warn Roosevelt about the German bo