The Pen is Mightier than the Sword: The Impact of Modern Theoretical Physics on World History

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a very old saying. Normally it is taken to mean that words and diplomacy are far better ways of settling disputes than swords and guns. However, in the twentieth century it took on a very different meaning. Pen and paper in the hands of Albert Einstein, showed us the close links between space, time, matter and energy. Pen and paper, in the hands of Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr, gave us a better understanding of the basic structure of the atom and its nucleus. These discoveries were developed by a host of other people to build the first atomic bomb. More than seventy years ago two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over a 100 thousand people, and, within days, Japan surrendered. Since then there have been no major World war, so atomic bombs and, and subsequently hydrogen bombs, have put an end, all be it an uneasy end, to global conflicts. This means that theoretical physics, first done with pencil and paper, and later on assisted by computers, has, in effect been mightier than the conventional weapons of war.
Atomic and hydrogen bombs are the most awe-inspiring, spectacular and horrendous products of modern physics. In this book I will describe the major scientific discoveries that lie at the heart of these weapons; I will briefly discuss the lives and work of the people who made these discoveries; I will describe the activity that gave rise to the first bombs, and I will discuss the disturbing consequences of the use of these bombs on Japan.
At the end of the book I propose a simple way of re-opening an informed debate on nuclear disarmament.