| Description |
xx, 352 pages : portrait ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-345) and index. |
| Form |
Also available as an electronic book via the World Wide Web to institutions affiliated with netLibrary, Inc. |
| Summary |
Digging deep into the archival record among formerly secret technical reports, Rose examines early thinking about the atomic bomb not only on the German side but also among Allied scientists. He finds that the early history of fission bomb physics had no shortage of false starts and fumbles in both camps. But, whereas the Allied physicists' ideas crystallized into a realistic prospect for a bomb toward the end of 1940. Heisenberg's basic misconceptions persisted, influencing the German leaders not to push for atomic weapons. In fact, Heisenberg never had to face the moral problem of whether he should design an actual bomb for the Nazi regime. Rose's exploration of the German mentality that made it quite reasonable for "unpolitical" scientists to support the regime in power, whatever its form, shows the extent to which Heisenberg and others could devote themselves to research they regarded as patriotic. |
| Contents |
Preface: Why Heisenberg? -- A Note on Historical Terminology of the First Nuclear Age, 1939-45 -- Prologue: The Heisenberg Problem: Deception and Self-Deception -- Pt. I. History: The Heisenberg Version and Its Critics. Ch. 1. The Heisenberg Version and Its First Critic, 1945-49. Ch. 2. Elaborating the Heisenberg Version, 1945-76. Ch. 3. Criticizing the Version, 1948-94 -- Pt. II. Science: Conceptions and Misconceptions of Physics. Ch. 4. The Atomic Bomb Problem, 1939. Ch. 5. The Frisch-Peierls Solution, 1940. Ch. 6. Heisenberg's False Foundations, 1939. Ch. 7. The Bomb as Reactor: The U[subscript 235] Bomb Misconceived, 1940. Ch. 8. The Reactor as Bomb: Explosive Reactor-Bombs, 1940. Ch. 9. The Reactor and the Bomb: Plutonium, 1940-41. Ch. 10. The Reactor-Bomb Patent and the Heisenberg/Bohr Drawing, 1941. Ch. 11. The Weapons Research Office Report of 1942: Plutonium and the Reactor-Bomb. Ch. 12. The Two Conferences of 1942: Loose Details, Non-decisions, and Pineapples. Ch. 13. Reactor-Bombs, Plutonium Bombs, and the SS: The Report of Activities of 1944. Ch. 14. The Truth: Farm Hall, August 1945 -- Pt. III. Culture: German Patriotism, German Morality, and the Truth of Physics. Ch. 15. The German Context: Unpolitical Politics. Ch. 16. The Unpolitical Heisenberg: Patriot and Physicist, 1918-33. Ch. 17. Collusion and Compromise under Hitler, 1933-37. Ch. 18. The Himmler Connection: Heisenberg's "Honor," 1937-44. Ch. 19. Justifying Nazi Victory, 1941-45. Ch. 20. Decency and Indecency at Farm Hall, 1945. Ch. 21. Heisenberg's Peculiar Way, 1945-48. |
| Subject |
Heisenberg, Werner, 1901-1976.
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Physicists -- Political activity.
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Atomic bomb -- Germany -- History.
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Germany -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945.
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| ISBN |
0585321906 electronic bk. |
|
9780585321905 electronic bk. |
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0520210778 alkaline paper |
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9780520210776 alkaline paper |
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