They Know It's Loaded

What is the goal of science? To blow up the world? If scientists mean what they say--and they generally do--scientific progress is within sight of that nihilistic goal, and may soon succeed in reaching it. Last fortnight Professor John Archibald Wheeler, of Princeton University, almost let this monstrous tiger cat out of the bag.

The present atomic bomb, Professor Wheeler believes, is a mere firecracker. The cornerstone of atomic physics is the Einstein Equation,* which shows that all matter, on earth and elsewhere, is merely frozen energy. "It tells us that the most powerful nuclear transformation so far known, the fission of a heavy nucleus, releases only one-1,000th of the energy locked up in its mass." The sub-atomic particles which form the uranium nucleus are not themselves transformed. They are only reshuffled into smaller nuclei, with a tiny loss of mass. If protons, for instance, which are found in all nuclei, could only be transformed into energy, the explosion would be really vigorous.

The Itchy Fingers. When the scientists gathered in New Mexico to test the first atomic bomb, they weren't entirely sure just what would happen. A few suspected that the nuclear chain reaction might spread from the bomb's uranium, flash around the world in the air and burn every living thing to a crisp. One enthusiastic physicist, famed Enrico Fermi, casually offered to bet his associates 10-to-1 that it would. He got no takers.

But the scientists, with the purest scientific motives in the world, still toy with the idea of a scientifically induced Doomsday. They know the gun is loaded, but their fingers itch to try the trigger. They have a pretty good idea about how to attack this scientifically fascinating problem. Their most powerful cyclotrons and betatrons shoot out particles with energies up to 100,000,000 electron-volts. This is practically no energy at all, said Professor Wheeler. From outside the earth's atmosphere a wealth of high-energy particles is constantly showering down. By studying these cosmic rays, Professor Wheeler believes, we may learn the ultimate secret: how to totally transform matter--any & every kind of matter--into energy.

Professor Wheeler did not mention that the Russians are already plodding along this track with clumsy balloons and a station high in the Caucasus. The professor's plan is better. Let the U.S. Army contribute B-29s, each carrying up toward the cosmic rays a ten-ton laboratory.

The ardently pro-atom U.S. Army was mum on the professor's suggestion. If it does lend its B-29s, the U.S. public will probably not be told about it. And if an experiment succeeds in setting up a chain reaction, it is possible that no living thing will be around to applaud.* For, if the scientists ever succeed in pulling the trigger. . . .

* E equals mc^2--with E standing for the energy expressed in ergs, m the mass in grams, and c the speed of light in centimeters per second.

* For the possible results of a penultimate test, see BOOKS.

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