Are we going towards the 3rd World War?!!

Padraic wrote: ENOUGH ABOUT THE FREAKING EINSTEIN QUOTE

No. This forum now exists to discuss the quote.

The T wrote: Regardless who thought it first, the guy who actually contributed something to the eventual type of war that would result in that quote being even coherent in the first place is Einstein, therefore it's quite more relevant and interesting if he said it or even if he just repeated it.

But the point being that he repeated it.

And Einstein really didn't have that much to do with the A-bomb.

Equality 7-2521 wrote: The T wrote: Regardless who thought it first, the guy who actually contributed something to the eventual type of war that would result in that quote being even coherent in the first place is Einstein, therefore it's quite more relevant and interesting if he said it or even if he just repeated it.  But the point being that he repeated it. And Einstein really didn't have that much to do with the A-bomb.

Of course I don't know much about physics but wasn't his theory of relativity quite a step that allowed later scientists like Szilard to eventually develop it? 

Equality 7-2521 wrote: The T wrote: Equality 7-2521 wrote: The T wrote: Regardless who thought it first, the guy who actually contributed something to the eventual type of war that would result in that quote being even coherent in the first place is Einstein, therefore it's quite more relevant and interesting if he said it or even if he just repeated it.  But the point being that he repeated it. And Einstein really didn't have that much to do with the A-bomb. Of course I don't know much about physics but wasn't his theory of relativity quite a step that allowed later scientists like Szilard to eventually develop it?  Come on at least he had some (if only theoretical) influence on the bomb, unlike whoever actually said the now infamous-in-PA quote.  His influence was largely just in writing a letter to FDR urging him to make a concerted effort to develop it before Germany. The consensus is that the US would have developed the technology anyway though not necessarily before the 50s. As I said, his theoretical influence was minimal. There's a subtle connection there in that there's a differential between the rest mass of the uranium isotope used and that of it when split because of the binding energy, but it's subtle.

I can hardly believe you call this "minimal". It led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Einstein always felt responsible for this; he used to say "I pressed the button".

As to "if" and "when"  the USA would have developed an atomic bomb without that letter: This is mere speculation and has no place in history. Fact is that after receiving his letter Roosevelt said: "Gentlemen, this means we have to act".


Edited by BaldFriede - March 03 2014 at 15:46

Padraic wrote: I wish someone would drop an atomic bomb on this thread.

Would Einstein have any influence on this one? 

CPicard wrote: The T wrote: Padraic wrote: I wish someone would drop an atomic bomb on this thread. Would Einstein have any influence on this one?  It depends. Was Einstein Proto-Prog?

For his time, he might have been RIO/Avant-Garde.... 

BaldFriede wrote: I can hardly believe you call this "minimal". It led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Einstein always felt responsible for this; he used to say "I pressed the button". As to "if" and "when"  the USA would have developed an atomic bomb without that letter: This is mere speculation and has no place in history. Fact is that after receiving his letter Roosevelt said: "Gentlemen, this means we have to act".

There's a lot of things that happen between Einstein writing a letter to the existence of a powerful weapon that men decided to drop on other men, twice. People often feel overly responsible for things, especially thoughtful ones such as Einstein. The fact is that Einstein's contribution towards the development of the atom bomb wasn't that great. Of course, accelerating the development by even a few years was tragic for the people of Japan. However, you need to separate that to accurate track history of the device.

It's interesting how this thread has become a silly joking about what Einstein said or didn't say, or maybe somebody else said, or not.
All while Mr. Putin is wagging the dog.
It's extremly dangerous for surrounding nations when one despotic ruler in their vicinity needs to get his subjects at home to focus on an outside enemy, rather than paying attention to the mismanagement at their own doorstep.

The world is too connected for a world war now. Plus, the tactics of war have changed enough for any large scale war to be completely different from WW1 or 2. As a cherry on top, I think you would see nationwide riots if there was a possibility of a draft in the USA for anything less than a full scale homeland invasion.