Evening star., 1947-08-03

~ LIVE utc wal CAiu oCAC4kSC
has been in q somewhat
- sterile interlude between
~ two eras. The two decades
before Pearl Harbor were
the most fruitful period in the
history of research, with con-
stantly accelerating tempo. This
reached its apotheosis in the
war years, especially In the Gre
alton of the atomic bomb and
the dawn of the age Of nuclear
energy. Practically all science
was concentrated to one end
winning the war. Most Of the
work was secret. Soldiers stood
guard at the gates Of laboratories
and chemical formulas were
discussed only in whispers.
Scientists everywhere came out
of the war tired. Many Of them
have taken q year OF to readjust
their lives to a peacetime sched-
ule. The result is that there has
been relatively little original re-
search for the past Is months. It
is just now getting under way
again. This naturally has been
reflected in scientific literature.
There has hardly beef q single
book of first-rate significance. On
the other hand there has been an
enormous increase of interest on
the part Of the reading public
and this has been catered to by
many popular science writer's.
The leading subject has been
atomic energy, with numerous at
tempts to explain what can be
revealed of this extremely COM
plex subject in language which
will be generally understood by
the layman.
Leading Authors
On the Atom
Two volumes in particular may
be cited, "The Atomic Revolu-
tion," by Robert d. Potter and
Atomic Energy in Cosmic and
Human Life" by Prof. George
Gamow of George Washington
University. Few men living are
as familiar with the birth Of the
atomic age as Potter. In Janu-
ary, 1899, he was a member of the
news staff of Science Service and
at the same time was working on
his doctoral dissertation at the
Department of Terrestrial Mag
netism of the Carnegie 1nstitu-
ton of Washington.
It was both as reporter and
physicist that Potter attended
that fateful meeting of theoreti-
cal physicists in a George Wash
ington classroom one gloomy
winter afternoon when the first
announcement of the splitting OF
the uranium nucleus was made.
The present writer was the only
other reporter to hear the an
nouncement and~to both of us it
was one of the high moments OF
a lifetime. We had a world
scoop" on what was potentially
the most significant event in hui
man history.
Both fact and theory at the
time were quite obscure. Within
a few months reporters found
themselves very unwelcome in
any place where atomic research
was in progress. But for short
time Potter continued his work at
the Department of Terrestrial
Magnetism and assisted in some
of the early crucial experiments
of Drs. Merle Tuve, Lawrence
Hafstad and Richard B. Roberts.
He soon found himself pledged to
strict secrecy, a most painful po-
sition for a reporter on the in
side" of the biggest story of the
age.
An Historic
Document
It Is as an historic document
that I find "Atomic Revolution"
of chief interest. 1t is the first &C
curate account, according to my
own memory of the events, which
has appeared of the momentous
George Washington meeting
which was the first step to Hiro-
shima. Otherwise Potter attempts
a popular exposition of nuclear
Alo1y.1Y xx,l1ioL, from tho vary ma