1985/10/01 by Roger H. Stuewer · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Astrophysics #Event (particle physics) #Fission #History #International Science and Diplomacy #Nuclear Issues and Defense #Nuclear fission #Nuclear physics #Physics #Political science #Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
paper · doi:10.1063/1.881016
openalex publication_date 1985/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
In January 1939 the news of the discovery of nuclear fission burst in America, sending physicists into their laboratories to try to confirm the startling new discovery. Some aspects of the story of how this news reached America are well known. Others, however, are not; they have remained hidden in private correspondence and other unpublished documents. By examining these materials in conjunction with the published literature, one can reconstruct the circumstances that converged to produce this historic event.