Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-01-26
For Ages to Come

In Jointly releasing their technical
reports on controlled thermometer
fusion, Britain and the United States
have added nothing essentially new to
the brief Anglo-American statement
issued at Princeton University last oc-
tober. In that sense. apart from reveal
ing scientific details not heretofore
published, they have merely confirmed
the statements carefully qualified opti-
mism about the progress being made in
both countries toward Harvesting, for
peaceful uses, the preternaturally wild
power Of the hydrogen bomb.
This may strike many people as
sort Of anticlimax. For certain news
papers, especially in Britain. have within
recent weeks published lot Of sensa-
tional stories accusing the United States
specifically Chairman Lewis L. Strauss
Of our Atomic Energy Commissioned
pressuring the Macmillan government
Into suppressing news about a British
thermometer "breakthrough" far more
significant than the launching Of
Russia's sputniks. Despite categorical
oflcial denials in London and Washing
ton. these stories have been amazingly
persistent. Now. however. we may
hope to hear no more Of them. and good
radiance.
At any rate, according to the Anglo
American papers that have Just been
made public, the United States and
Britain have been closely cooperating
in this field ever since 1856, and al
though one is sometimes ahead Of the
other in their separate projects, neither
claims to have achieved more than
the progress outlined in the Princeton
statement. That Is. they both have
carried out experiments that suggest the
production Of neutrons from controlled
fusion, but they still need to prove it
conclusively In further tests. And even
II it Is established as a definite fact, II
will be only a step-although an i'm
portant one-in the long-range efforts"
to harness the H-bomb for economic
power Actually. in that respect, we and
the British are not yet at point COM
parable to December 2. 1912, when the
first self-sustaining fission reactor came
into being. thus paving the way for
today's Notwithstanding atomic
furnaces.
It Is for these and related reasons
that our Acc and Britain's Atomic En-
ergy Authority have now Joined in de-
claring that the outlook-though highly
Observation-Disclosures that many years OF
intensive work probably will be required
to develop a device capable Of main
tanning and containing all the condi-
tons (including enormous temperatures)
needed to bring about controlled. power
producing fusion reactions. As the
Aces DR.. Libby has put 1t, our two
countries have scored a major advance
in that direction. not major break
through. Conceivably, such a break
through could come very quickly, but
the scientists are not counting on 1t.
Yet. despite the many formidable
problems remaining to be solved, our
Anglo-American experts 1.-THE Russians
that the H-bomb can and will be har-
messed for humanity's good. That means,
In Mr. Strauss words, that I'VE will be
able to build and operate commercial
reactors utilizing the deuterium Of the
oceans, thus to produce electrical power
and provide source Of energy SUFFICIENT
for mans expanding needs for ages to
come" Clearly, this is prospect that
holds out such an unparalleled promise
Of revolutionary betterment for peoples
everywhere that 1t well justifles all the
effort we can invest in 1t.