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Albert Einstein

By Archis A. Mohapatra

In May 1946 Einstein took on one of the most daring roles in his career, he became the chairmen of newly formed Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientist which was created to champion the cause of disemploying atomic bombs on moral grounds. In a fund-raising telegram Einstein had this to say “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and thus we drift towards unparalleled catastrophe”. The Time Magazine July 1, 1946 edition put Einstein in its cover with a mushroom cloud as its background and on the top the most famous Einstein equation E=mc2, with a caption at the bottom reading this “COSMOCLAST EINSTEIN All matters is speed and flame”. This depiction of Einstein along with the article by Whittaker Chambers calling Einstein “father of the bomb” inadvertently painted a picture with Einstein came to dislike and had this to say on the topic “Had I known the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I never would have lifted a finger.” On being asked whether there will ever be lasting peace he replied “No, as long as there will be men there will be war.”

Source:
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson, Times Person of the Century Edition issue, Dec. 31,1999

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