The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-06
SCIENTISTS hint
AT NEW A-B0MBS
Members Of Emergency
Committee Claim Civil
cation Is Threatened
BY ROBERT GE1GER

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4.-[PE
Scientis familiar with secret labora
tory developments are limiting at
new and more powerful atomic
bombs.
I Members of the emergency COM
mittee of atomic scientists, headed
by DR.. Albert Einstein, have said
civilization can be destroyed by
these bombs.
Prof. Marcus Oliphant, chief of
the British team which cooperated
in the A-bomb project, is quoted
as saying the United States now
had a bomb 600 times as power
full as the one dropped on Nagasa-
XII.
These hints raise fundamental
questions:
l.. Could the generals sit in
Washington, press buttons and
watch by television as a super A
bomb speeds from the United
States and drops on a city on the
other side OF the world, destroying
it in one blast?
2. Has another nation secretly
discovered a way to make bombs
more deadly than those dropped or
Japan? to destroy civilization il
would be necessary to crush it il
every nation. Therefore some othel
nation besides the United State!
would have to have A-bombs ano
be prepared to launch them if the
United States does-and at abou
the same time.
Answers to these questions Skin
the atomic energy control law
which forbids, under penalty o
death, the disclosure of atomic
weapon information.
But scientific literature and gov
eminent officials have replied, il
directly to much of the speculation
This is within the bounds of law
Here are some questions ane
such answers:
Question: Is it possible to buile
an A-bomb much more powerful
than the ones dropped on Japan:
Answer: Y e S. Atomic scientist
say the bombs dropped on Ma
gasaki and Hiroshima were "pla.
things compared with what nigh
be built.
@: How can more powerful
bombs be built?
A: The most discussed ways art
these: Improve t h e efficiency ant
enlarge the size of the Nagasak
Hiroshima type bombs, Or develol
. a new method of splitting atom
that can be applied to atoms OF tn
lighter elements.
,, @: Is it possible these develop
ments have taken place. and do W
! now have a supe rbomb, 800 time
!. more powerful than the first?
, A: Scientists say there undoub1
J, edly have been improvements"
A. bombs. pointing out that NOR
!, than a year has passed since tn
. war ended.
J John J. McCIoy, former Assis'
and Secretary of War, recent
gave a hint, however, that 1t ma
be ten years before we produce
bomb ever ten times as poWertu
as the first one.
He said in a recent speech be
fore the National Association Q
Life Underwriters:
s'From first hand information
given to me by the scientists Whos
prophecies were uncannily accur
ate during the course of the wal
There can be little doubt that with
in the next ten years, to be cor
sentative. bombs of the poWe
equivalent of 100, 900 to 250,0O ton
of TINT can be made, somethin
over ten times more powerful tina
the bomb dropped IN Hiroshima.
He was discussing p%ossibilitie
for the Improvement OF bomb
made from the heavy elements
such as uranium. used in the frs
bombs. -,
But scientists know super bomb
can be made # a way a be oun
to utilize the lighter elements, sue
as the gases hydrogen o
helium. They also have explaine
that this might involve a differen
method of releasing the atomic er
ergy and require heat equivalent t
that of the sun. along with the ere
alton of almost fantastic p%ressures
McCloy may have been discuss
ing this when he said:
IF we can move to the other en-
of the periodic table and utiliz
hydrogen in the generation OF er
ergy, we would have a bomb some
where around 1000 times as power
full as the Nagasaki bomb.
"I have been told by scientist
who are not mere theorists but VIII
actually planned and made tn
bomb which was exploded in .Ney
Mexico that. given the same ir
tensive effort which was employe
during the war toward the produe
ton Of that bomb. we were With
two years time at the close of tn
war of producing a bomb of tn
hydrogen = helium type. l. E.,
bomb approximately 1000 times {
the power of the present bombs