Dale Sabo’s Reviews > The Making of the Atomic Bomb > Status Update

In the 1920’s horses were disappearing from cities. At the same time Niel Bohrs predicted the chemistry of Hafnium before it was discovered and named by its atomic number and location on the periodic table of elements. An effective model supported by observation and taught to every chemistry student today. I don’t begin to understand how he realized it from spectroscopy and mathematics. Like Newton’s Calculus.

Bohr has modeled the atom as having discrete, non continuous electrons and glimpsed quantum theory. Harry Mosley is killed fighting near Gallipoli and an American physicist eulogizes his death as enough for WWI to be a world disaster. Fritz Haber and Otto Hahn justify the means with the end and develop poison gas warfare. Gotha bombers and Zeppelins kill civilians bombing England. The shape of things to come.

Ernest Rutherford discovers the essential make up of the atom a few years after radio waves are discovered by Hertz in 1883, and x rays in 1895 by Roentgen. In a 140 years man goes from measuring invisible rays to today.

Leo Szilard, Hungarian scientist, has left Hungary following WWI, like the host of Hungarians who came to be known as the Martians. Brilliant and original. He switches from electrical engineering to physics and studies directly under Physics icons like von Laue, Wigner, and Einstein.

Rereading for the 3rd or 4th time? Last was 2019. Beautifully written comprehensive single volume summary that details 20th century physics to include biographical information and the wars. Reads like a well written novel. I read it the second time and began to understand the physics I’d let flow over me the first time. A truly terrifying topic that we struggle with today. One of my top five science books ever.