i i
TElf MEDFOHD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wadneiday. March 22, 1950
Many U.S. Targets Subject to
Devastation By Hydrogen Bomb
ivniiAwln la the lecond of fix dlt-
ratrhe prepared by the American So
ciety of Newspaper Editor' committee
on atomic Information In collaboration
with the bulletin of the atomic aclen-
tUU, and dlitriDuteo oy wiw vm
1'rcii.)
There is no hydrogen bomb
"secret," any more than there
was ever an American-held basic
secret of the atom.
Nor is It a secret to General
issimo Stalin that the hydrogen
bomb is a weapon particularly
suited to destroying Americas
civilization. , ,
A hydrogen bomb, when and
if one is built, may be able to
demolish New York or Washing
ton in a split second. The United
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States has manv such targets,
some within reach of a bomb-
carrying submarine or freighter
that could creep into a harbor
and deposit its cargo.
The Soviet Union has but a
few: Its industries are scattered
and its major cities land-locked
and well ringed by defenses.
Some Open Secreli
These are some of the open
secrets about the hydrogen bomb
discussed in the current issue of
the Bulletin of the atomic scien-
"sts- . ...
The Bulletin was founded four
and a half years ago by scientific
men who helped make the
A-bomb, then became concerned
with helping master it. The
March Issue is an H-bomb issue,
dedicated to the proposition that
Americans have not debated the
issues exploded by this and other
new weapons.
When it comes to the H-bomtTs
basic scientific facts, the fact is
there are no facts to hide.
It is now common knowledge
that top scientists believe you
can set off an explosion in some
forms of hydrogen, using the ex
plosion of an ordinary a-bomb
as the trigger.
In 1946 the Bulletin of the
atomic scientists received a copy
of a book by a distinguished Aus
trian scientist named Prof. Hans
Thirring. It contained a whole
chapter about the reactions on
which a super-bomb might rely.
Refrain From Printing
The Bulletin's editors refrain
ed from printing this or other
articles like it, for fear of giving
the appearance that the United
States was building this bomb.
This week they reprint Thir
ring's article, and this week they
say: "These facts were familiar
to nuclear scientists everywhere
in the world even before the dis
covery of uranium fission."
An H-bomb, we now learn by
reading Thirring and others,
would be made not from ordi
nary hydrogen the stuff in your
drinking water but from a
rarer "heavy hydrogen called
deuterium. The deuterium will
be mixed, it seems likely, with
a still rarer "heavy heavy hydro
gen" known as tritium. )
People already know how to
separate heavy hydrogen from
ordinary hydrogen, in a standard
and fairly inexpensive proced
ure. You can make small quant
ities of tritium by .bombarding
the element lithium with neu
trons in an ordinary atomic pile.
While you could theoretically
use an infinite amount of hydro
gen in the H-bomb and theoret
ically make a bomb 1,000 times
more powerful than the A-bomb
in practice it might have to
be smaller, lust for convenience.
Dr. Louis Kidenour of Illinois
university has observed:
Demanda On Intentions
"To say the fusion bomb would
be 2, 7, 10, 100 or 1,000 times
as devastating as the convention
Hi fission bomb (the A-bomb) is
to speak from ignorance, the el
fective size will depend upon the
intentions and skill of its de
signers." The possibility remains open
that the H-bomb might be more
compact than one might other
wise expect. For the higher the
density, or compactness, of heavy
hydrogen, the better the chances
of an explosive reaction.
You might compress and liq
uefy hydrogen gas at extremely
low temperatures, then, and have
a lot of explosive in a transport
able oacknue.
If a bomb were 1,000 times
more powerful than the Hiro
shima A-bomb, it would cause
almost complete destruction up
to a 10-mile radius, and fatul
flush burns up to 20 miles or
more. Such a bomb could ob
literate almost nil of greater New
York or Moscow or London.
Scientists today know the
basic H-bomb theory, but can
not be sure until they try that
it will work. Dr. Hans A. Bcthe,
one H-bomb architect, has pre
dicted that completing it will
take "several years." Other esti
mates have been shorter the
time may depend on how hard
we labor.
Could Dwarf A-Bomb
The H-bomb, if it works, could
easily dwarf today's A-bomb in
deadly radioactivity, just as in
blast power. For the H-bomb re-1
action would eject millions of !
the penetrating particles called
neutrons. j
The neutron shower would i
turn some of the nitrogen in the
air Into carbon 14, a radioactive
form of carbon that lasts thou
sands of years. This will be ab
sorbed by plants and get into
all forms of life.
The effect on human genetics
alone the way the radiation
could alter our genes and affect
future generations might be
terrible. It is even true, Albert
Einstein now says, that "radio
active poisoning of the atmos
phere, and hence annihilation of
any life on earth, has been
brought within the range of tech
nical possibilities."
On a broadcast by the Univer
sity of Chicago round table last
month, four important scientists
raised the possibility of "rigging"
an H-bomb to produce even
more radioactivity than normal.
One, Dr. Leo Szilard of Chi
cago university, has explained:
"If it becomes possible to de
tonate practically unlimited
quantities of heavy hydrogen,
then it automatically becomes
possible to release very large
quantities of radioactive sub
stances in the air simply by
incorporating into the H-bombs
elements which become radio
active when they absorb neu
trons."
Szilard raised the issue of na
tional dispersal moving people
and industries from fat, easy tar
gets. He said that to move 30
to 60 million people from big
cities might cost 15 to 25 billion
dollars a year for 10 years. (The
entire defense budget today is 13
billion dollars.)
He said that with the possi
bility of H-bombs rigged for
radioactivity, mankind could
"Reach a new day when the
loser of a war (will) have the
desperate option of inflicting
death on the whole world."
One of his fellows said we
must realize that the cost of
building H-bombs, then, could
be "not only the cost of the
bomb, but the fantastic cost of
proper dispersal, which would
protect cities from blast effects
if not from radioactivity and
permit us at least more security
than we would have" otherwise.
David E. Lilienthal, former U.
S. atomic energy commission
chairman, accused these four sci
entists of creating "growing
hopelessness and helplessness"
and arousing "emotions that play
into" communist hands.
"What he said we did not say
to scare people, nor did we say
it for lack of restraint," replied
Szilard. "The reason for speak
ing up Is rather this: Neither the
president nor the atomic energy
commission has explained to the
American people what the decis
ion to develop hydrogen bombs
will involve, what the meaning
of the 'hydrogen bomb' is, or
what the cost of the indispens
able defense measures must be.
Yet these are things the people
must know."
"It might very well be true
that the people will decide
against relocation, and thut con
gress will not vote, funds for it,"
he added.
People Will Pay
"But if that happens, and the
atomic arms race continues, and
the cold war goes on and on,
there may be a price. It is the
people who will pay the price,
and it must be their decision to
pny it, and they will have to
discuss it before they will be
able to decide."
Two of the round table par
ticipants Cornell's Dr. Bethe
and Illinois university's Dr. Fred
erick Seitz are among 12 phy
sicists who have said the United
States should build the H-bomb
only If It pledges never to be
first to use It
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right to use such a bomb, no
matter how richteous its cause."
they asserted.
This bomb is no longer a
weapon of war, but a means of
extermination of whole popula
tions. Its use would be a be
trayal of all standards of moral
ity and of Christian civilization
itself."
Yet many scientists, while
equally horrified by devastation
and war, fear we may be facing
war of survival, and that the
question to ask is "Is this bomb
practical? not "Is it moral?"
Most would probably agree
with Dr. Louis Ridenour, Illinois
graduate dean, writing in the
current Scientific American:
Old Way More Unpleasant
"Once it is decreed that people
are to be killed, the 'moral' ques
tion is fully settled. The instru
ments of that killing are not at
all affected with human or moral
questions. It was probably far
more unpleasant to be disem
boweled by the 18-inch sword
of the Roman soldier than it will
be to vanish in the flash of a
nuclear reaction."
In his quarrel with Szilard and
his fellows. David Lilienthal also
made a statement which would
indicate that he and these scien
tists may not be far anart after
all.
"To face the dangers of a very
tough world, what we need is
not to be overwhelmed with
these dangers, but to understand
them." said Lilienthal. "and with
courage and resolution and pa
tience face up to them and see
them through. We have done it
"We believe no nation has the before, we can do it again."
Columbia, Mo., Mar. 22 (U.R)
Police Chief Eugene Pond will
fly to Van Buren, Ark., today to
question two suspects in the
rape-slaying of 14-year-old Janett
Christman.
Pond declined to Identify the
men, but said one had a news
paper account of the murder in
his pocket.
"He has a peculiar explana
tion of how he happened to have
it," Pond said.
Pond would not talk about
the "peculiar explanation" be
cause "I don't want to give him
a chance to set up an alibi."
One of the men, Pond said, was
a "Kansas City taxicab driver."
Janett, whose 14th birthday
was yesterday, was buried in an
Easter suit she bought with
Medford Airman Goes
To New Post Of Duty
Sgt, Raymond E. Minger left
Medford Monday for Georgia
where he is stationed with the
money
sitter.
she earned as a baby
air force. He has been visiting
with his parenis, Mr. and Mrs.
Ray A. Minger, 2238 Aloha
street.
Sergeant Minger recently com
pleted one enlistment period, and
has served the last 18 months at
Vance air force base in Enid,
Okla. He has reenlisted for six
years.
En route to Georgia he plan
to visit his sister, Mrs. Lono
Guilfoyle, and her family, in
La Grange, Mo.
Hingham, Mass. (U.R) This
town, incorporated in 1635, has
its first set of triplets. Donna,
Deborah and Dianne Antoine,
daughters of a policeman.
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