Committee on Uranium | |
Participants || Resources || Visuals || Course Hub | |
In 1939 a group of U.S. scientists and military experts met to decide whether (and how) to pursue research on a possible atomic bomb. In this project, each participant will assume the role of a historical figure who was there and we will recreate the historical event -- and reach our own decision. Background: In 1939, Alexander Sachs carried a letter from physicists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard to then President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, advising him of the theoretical potential to build a weapon based on the release of nuclear energy. No one actually knew, however, whether such a functional device could ever be built. Controlled sustained nuclear fission was still only a dim theoretical possibility. The U.S. was not then at war with Germany, but the possibility loomed. President Roosevelt asked Lyman Briggs, Director of the U.S. Bureau of Standards (then our national laboratory of physics), to convene a committee to advise him on this matter. "The Advisory Committee on Uranium" met on Sat., October 21, 1939 in Washington, D.C. Note: We are not trying to re-enact the actual decision that was made historically. Rather, we are using the history as a scenario for making our own recommendation, based on information that was available at the time. Afterwards, we will compare our decision with the actual history and try to interpret any similarities and differences. Participants at this meeting:
Guiding Questions:
Each person must prepare a concentrated written summary of their argument --in first person as their character (~1250 wds/person, excluding references and visuals) and present a 3-minute summary in class (without reading). Each contribution should include: Evaluation will be based on how deeply you reconstruct the historical context and arguments and your contribution to class understanding on the general questions above. Your position statement is due (electronically) November 7, 2004 and is worth 20% of the course grade (15% for HSci 3815). See Resources Simulation assembled by Douglas Allchin, with kind assistance from Robert Seidel. || last revised Sept. 6, 2005 Return to HSCI 1815 |