Peace and the Atomic Bomb

Abstract

A little over three years after assuming the directorship of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Norris Bradbury returned to his alma mater, Pomona College, and delivered one of his first extended speeches regarding the atomic bomb. Bradbury noted that although the atomic bomb had brought a “peace of kind,” ending World War II, the bomb also had become, without much thought, a “factor in the political, military, and diplomatic thinking of the world.” Bradbury hoped his speech, given to both the faculty and student body of Pomona, would give his audience a foundation on which to assess and understand the new world the bomb had ushered into existence. Bradbury’s talk was quickly printed an distributed by Pomona College and, later, reprinted in The Physical Review (Volume 75, No. 8, 1154-1160, April 15, 1949). It is reprinted here, for a third time, as a reminder of the early days of Los Alamos and its role in international affairs. Slightly more that three years ago, this country brought to an end the most catastrophic war in history. The conflict had been characterized by an unremitting application of science to the technology of destruction. The final use of the atomic bomb, however, providedmore » a climax so striking that the inevitable nature of future wars was illustrated with the utmost clarity. Peace of a kind followed the first military use of atomic weapons, but international understanding did not, and the atomic bomb became a factor in the political, military, and diplomatic thinking of the world. Where do we now stand in all this? What are the costs and the rewards? Where are we going? These are some of the things that I would like to discuss with you this morning.« less