Evening star., 1947-05-02
Snug Egoiism Blamed
In Nazi Failure 10
Produce A-Bomb
By Thomas R. Henry
Ssrvies Edfiog Of The Stor,

4 I
Snug egotism combined with in-I
competence in high places to defeat
Germany's efforts to produce an
atomic boznh despite q long head
start In of1icial research.
+ The story was revealed to the
American Physical Society meeting
| here today by DR.. s. A. Goudsnait Of
Northwestern University, who headed
| an investigation team which went
into Germany just before the end
iof the war and about three months
before the first bomb was dropped
on the japanese.
The director of all German atomic
bomb research, DIR. Goudsmit said,
was Prof. Bruno Heisenberg, one of
the foremost atomic physicists in
the world. When he first met Heis-
enberg q few days after We day,
the German physicist told him that
German research was far ahead of
American, and intimated that he
would be willing to reveal what he
had learned as one of the conces-
sions for an early peace.
Little Progress Made.
Actually Heisenberg had made
hardly any progress at all. A few
months before an official report to
Goering, under whom the project
came, had stated that it would be
several years before an effective
explosive could be obtained and that
this In itself was evidence that the
Allies had nothing of the sort.
When the investigation team
reached France before the end Of
the war DR.. Goudslnit said, they
got a scare when they learned that
the Germans had taken from that
country all the thoriam supplies.
Thorium, like uranium, Is an explo-
sive element, but the Americans at
that time had found no way to make
use OF It.. The assumption was that
the Germans had made greater
progress and already had thorium
bomb.
1t afterwards developed that all
the French thorium had been stored
In Germany for use in making
toothpaste after the war.
Nazi Advances Feared.
In this country. DR.. Goudsmit said,
there was fixed idea that German
research in nuclear physics was
superior to American and when the
first plutonium was produced at the
University of Chicago the first re-
action was one of fear. 1t was felt
that the Germans must have known
about it earlier and that already
the country might be infiltrated
with plutonium bombs.
When the Germans finally started
serious atom bomb research, DR..
Goudsmit said, the whole project
was placed under q very incom-
Ipetent physicist whose previous work
had been on the vibrations of piano
strings. Although very good men
were working for him, he himself
never had clear idea of what the
work was all about.
When the project finally was
placed under Goering 1t Jared much
better and an appropriation of
Sc 900 900 marks was obtained. But
so confident we're the Germans that
1.-THE bomb could not be developed in
Ftimeasfor uset insthiss war and rthat
nobody else possibly could be ahead
of them that half this money finally
was turned back. n
Heisenberg himself, DR.. Goudsnh
pointed out, made major error at
the start by using lead matrixes
1ak his explosive uranium and BE-
fore this was corrected much in
valuable time had been lost.
Air Tides Indicated.
Evidence Of tides in the air due
to gravitational attraction of the
moon was presented at the opening
meeting OF the society here yester-
day by Or. Oliver r, Wulf of the
Weather Bureau and DR.. Seth B.
Nicholson Of the Mount Wilson OBJ
servatory.
Unlike sea tides, although due to
the same influence, these air tides.
which affect the atmospheric cir
culation over the earth and may
have an important bearing on
weather, are difficult to predict, DR..
Wulf said. They vary greatly in