"We scientists recognise our inescapable responsibility to carry to our fellow citizens an understanding of atomic energy and
its implication for society. In this lies our only security and our only hope - we believe that an informed citizenry will
act for life and not for death."
- Albert Einstein, 1947
The Atomic Energy Collection, containing more than 3,000 items, is a valuable resource for research on the development of
nuclear technologies in the twentieth century. Highlights of the collection include the first published account of the discovery
of radioactivity in 1896 by Nobel Prize winning physicist Henri Becquerel; writings on the Manhattan Project; materials concerning
the congressional hearings of J. Robert Oppenheimer; and formerly classified government reports. Cultural aspects of the atomic
age are also explored through fictional works, poetry, drama, and music.
This collection of more than 3,000 publications covers the beginning of nuclear science, its development throughout the following
100 years, and its many practical applications for war and peace. Many of the publications are autographed by the authors,
which adds to the human interest.The early publications by the founders of nuclear science -- Henri Becquerel, Niels Bohr, Irene Curie, Marie Curie, Pierre
Curie, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Kasimir Fajans, Otto Hahn, George Hevesy, Frederic Joliot, Ernest Lawrence, Lise Meitner,
Wilhelm Röentgen, Ernest Rutherford, Frederick Soddy, J. J. Thompson -- are a priceless resource. These appear in Section
I (Early Physics) of the 15-section catalogue.I was interested to see that Section II (From the Manhattan Project Through the Aftermath of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki) includes the paper by Arthur Wahl and me in which "we suggest (the name) 'plutonium' (after Pluto, the second
planet beyond Uranus) for element 94."The ten sections which follow cover such areas as the military uses of atomic energy, the Oppenheimer security hearings, the
struggle to establish international control of atomic energy, and the development of manifold applications of civilian atomic
energy. In addition to the use of atomic energy to produce electricity for civilian use, peaceful uses include the application
of radioactive isotopes to medical diagnosis and treatment, and as tools in industry, agriculture, and the arts and humanities.
The final three sections will be of particular interest to the social historian. Section 13 catalogues ethical, philosophical
and psychosocial discussions, and Section 15 offers fictional and artistic treatments of "The Atomic Age," while Section 14
focuses particularly on the "human interest" through biographies.This collection of documents is a unique resource, valuable to anyone interested in the history of nuclear science and in
its many practical applications. (Written by Glenn T. Seaborg)
Biographical Note(s)
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