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Lecture to look at creation of atomic bomb

By Kari VanDerVeen
November 12, 2007

EngbrechtJason
Engbrecht
The role that scientific discoveries played during World War II and the decisions scientists faced in creating the atomic bomb will be the focus of a talk by St. Olaf Assistant Professor of Physics Jason Engbrecht on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 11:30 a.m. in Viking Theater, Buntrock Commons. The talk, titled "From Obscurity to Trinity: Why a handful of scientists decided to build the atomic bomb and change the world," is free and open to the public.

The discovery of fission in December 1938 raised, for the first time, the possibility of harnessing the energy stored inside of a nucleus. "The scientists at the forefront of these discoveries were used to working in basement laboratories under poorly funded conditions," Engbrecht says.

"When World War II broke out shortly after the discovery of fission," he explains, "these scientists were forced to make decisions about what their own contribution to the war effort would be, with little information about what was taking place across enemy lines. Their collective decision led to the largest scientific program ever undertaken."

Liberal Arts in Times of War
Engbrecht's talk is part of a series of events that have been taking place at St. Olaf throughout the fall as part of the "Liberal Arts in Times of War" theme during the college's two-year academic focus on "Global Citizenship." The purpose of the theme is to encourage college-wide reflection on the contributions of liberal arts to understanding war, terrorism and the war against it, morality in war, plus the ideas of "realism," "just war," "holy war" and "non-violence" as competing traditions in the analysis of war.

Kari VanDerVeen is the new communications specialist in the St. Olaf Office of Marketing and Communications.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.