Saskatoon Technical Collegiate Institute - Techalogue Yearbook (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

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70 THETEGHALOGUE Ju'n.e,1946 No one knew what the bomb would do, with what force it would explode, or whether the explosion would engulf them all. This was the most crucial moment since inquisitive man started to probe into the great forces of nature. Suddenly there'came to cut the cool quietness of the early morning, a terrific blinding flash. It lit up distant mountains. After an interval of seconds came a deafening roar and a powerful blast of air. Two men who remained standing several miles from the tower were blown from their feet. Those who dared look at the blast saw a huge fiery cloud shoot some 40,000 feet into the air. It lit up the horizon like a dozen brilliant suns. Immediately the small group of Watchers rose, running wildly around, waving, cheering, and shouting to the heavens a common cry It works! It works! Doctor Oppenheimer and Sir James Chad- wick, who had become on the verge of nervous breakdowns before the test, became as exuberant as the rest. And why not? The telephone wires to Washington at once carried the announcement: New York Yankees -the prearranged code signal to report Successful beyond expectation. That morning of July 16, a terrific new force had be- come realized. 'Llmaginative minds which wander in an entirely opposite direc- tion to those which created the bomb have developed eye-pleasing, plan-forming pictures of a postwar world. They show underground mansions heated by atomic power, lighted by atomic power, con- trolled by atomic powerg automobiles powered by uranium, gardens conditioned and heated by uranium. Atomic power may in fact change man's entire mode of living. He may find it more convenient to build well-lighted air-conditioned cities underground with beauti- ful parks. forests, and farm lands on the ground above. A trip to the country, to the sumn1er's sun and winter's snow would then mean a rise of a few feet in an elevator. Industry would be converted atomically too. Glass structures might surround resorts, helping people to a more vigorous and adven- turous life. These structures could be made from minerals which are so abundant, needing only great sources of power to refine them. These resorts might be reached in a few hours by atomic-powered, jet-propelled planes. These are but a very few of the many fantastic projects which have been suggested. Youthful hearts, hope, pray, clamor for these possibilities. Will all this be possible? Scientific minds are continually conflicting over the answer. Some say 'certain- ly', others reply 'certainly not'. Nevertheless, much will be realizedg that is certain. When? The United States Government appointed a special committee of scientists to investigate the peacetime possibil- ities of atomic power, and the first report is that the energy for 'special purposes' could be developed in 10 years. But then in opposi- tion, Doctor Einstein believes it is impossible to estimate when atomic energy can be applied to constructive purposes. He announces 'What now is known is only how to use fairly large quantities of uranium. One cannot predict when the use of small quantities, sufficient say to operate an automobile or an aeroplane, will be achieved. So, though the release of atomic energy will be a great boon to mankind, that may not be for some time.' One cannot help wondering, however-as several newspaper- men were heard to wonder in the corridors of the War Department-

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J1me,1946 THE TECHALOGUE 69 notice as curt as 'Here's two billion dollars, build us an atomic bomb.' He was summoned to the White House and told that he was assigned to the task of organizing the creation of an atomic bomb. He imme- diately set to work, and with his picked head co-workers, plans began to form. From the start, a degree of secrecy never before attempted or maintained for as long as three years with such consummate suc- cess, was enforced. In the end the only thing powerful enough to shatter that secrecy was the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima. The person in charge of secrecy was Lieutenant Colonel Consodine. His was the strangest 'publicity' job in the world. Plans were brought to the manufacturing stage in June, 1942, and in December the United States Government began erection of two plants to manufacture atomic bombs. One was located on 58,000 acres of land, 18 miles west of Knoxville, Tenn. The other was on a Government reservation of 430,000 acres, in an isolated area outside Pasco, Washington, where 17,000 workers and their families were brought in. The Government of Canada, also a partner in the plans, built a plant at Deep River, Ontario, which up till last November was unknown. But, before the bomb could be manufactured, laboratory work was necessary. Doctor Oppenheimer built a special laboratory near Santa Fe manned by 7,000 workers who established a way to put the components of the bomb together. The materials were all important and the most important, a powerful element, uranium U.235, was found in ample supply at Port Hope, Ontario, Great Bear Lake, western Colorado, and eastern Utah. Soon mountains of raw materials began to flow into the huge plants-ore, steel, machinery, by trucks and freight cars-yet nothing seemed to move out. Each worker had his or her own job, dials and switches were turned, great machines operated without the worker knowing precisely what he was doing. Rumors spread of secret rockets, or guns, being made. Yet all remained silent. Great credit must be due to all those whose job it was to guard the secret for doing such a flawless job. Then about the middle of July, July 16, a date I have mentioned before, a story trickled out of New Mexico, of a great roar and a brilliant flash of light during the darkness of the night, that seemed like the sun suddenly rising to high noon and then setting quickly. insignificant attention was paid to the occurrence. No one knew of such a thing, it must have been someone's imagination. Then, President Truman, on August 6, with a smile which some said stretched from ear to ear met in a press conference and gave to the papers a scoop never before heard of, a reporters true dream, the story of the bomb. At the test on the desert the bomb was placed on a 100-foot tower near the Almagorodo air base. The materials were brought in four nights previously. Wires were strung to the control points, great distances away from the tower, the scientists and army men gathered. The setting was well suited for the drama. The sky was overcast. There was occasional thunder, lightning, and rainfall. As the hour approached the radio loudspeaker started broadcasting the time sig- nals, 'minus 15 minutes, minus 10 minutes, minus' came the loud- speaker's voice. The robot mechanism to set off the bomb was turned on. The whole experiment was now beyond human control to stop.

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June,1946 THE TECHALOGUE 71 what would happen if any Government applied its resources with equal generosity to other human needs. If we repeat in other fields the magnitude of the procedure evolved by General Groves, is any- thing beyond human hope? Nevertheless, the atomic bomb's possibil- ities for evil are as great as its possibilities for good. It is with these possibilities that the people of the world are at present most con- cerned. Almost immediately after the appearance of the bomb, people all over the wforld were saying that this terrible new weapon made it more imperative than ever that the United Nations must succeed, and to do so should have greater strength than was contemplated when the charter at San Francisco was drawn up. As an example of this national feeling-no country will ever again dare issue an ultimatum to another with a time limit of even six hours, for the reply in five hours might be a shower of atomic bombs. It is thus obvious that the national sovereign state, in its political and economic mani- festations, finds itself in a dilemma. The only way out is the creation as rapidly as possible of a world State. There is no other way out, except to get out of this world by way of a series of violent explosions. The brutal questions that the ultra-microscopic atom has put forth must be answered as quickly and as satisfactorily as is possible. Stephen King-Hall, an eminent British newyspaperman, explains it, 'If we are to solve these problems, we must not be afraid to admit that world government is no longer merely a vision held by a few idealists. World government has become a hard-boiled, practical and an urgent necessity? This world government must be created quickly enough to avoid disaster. This world government must include men bold in action. This world government must issue decisions and see that they are carried out. It would be necessary too, for this world authority to establish the only true defence against atomic bombs-not the building of bigger and better bombs-but the building of a world in which no one has the slightest desire to drop atomic bombs on anyone else. The U.S.A., Great Britain and the Soviet Uunion would be probable heads of this council along with any of the smaller countries wihich find it their wish to join. Doubtless it will extend around the world. But the initiative in making concrete proposals should come from the acknowledged leaders. Winston Churchill has said 'future generations will judge our dire decision, and I believe, if they find themselves in a happier world from which war has been banished and where freedom reigns, they will not condenfm those who struggled for their benefit amid the horrors and miseries of this grim and ferocious epochf We need not despair of human ability being capable of extract- ing a real peace and a new world from these seething difficulties. The mere fact that, through the workings of men's minds, events have occurred which have brought the world face to face with the greatest crisis in its history also shows that we are capable of thinking out the answer and taking appropriate action. The bomb brought peace but man alone can keep that peace. It can be done. It must be done.