Physics and Politics

My original motivation in signing up for this class was one of desperation, I had foolishly waited to the deadline to choose my classes and all of the other interesting history classes were full. It wasn’t until after I clicked submit that my brother, a junior here at Union informed me that it was an upper-level course. He then rather maliciously told me that I was going to fail because I’m only an ignorant freshman. It’s safe to say that I was terrified and had no idea what to suspect, as a history major/geek the idea of combining history and science is fascinating, and when I saw that the title to one of the required books was “Nazi Science”, well I just got excited. My parents and brother told me all summer that I was making a big mistake in taking the course and would regret it immensely. Upon having completed this course I am especially pleased to say that they were completely wrong!!! This term physics and politics was by far my favorite course.

I enjoyed the physics part of the course for the very simple reason that the focus of the physics was the concepts and not the math behind it. I am horrible at math and this course allowed me to pursue my interest in science without the stress of having to do long and complicated equations. Of course having Professor Maleki made the course that much better, I’m convinced my high school physics teacher stole all of his material and phrases from Professor Maleki. One of the topics that I enjoyed learning the most about was the physics behind the atomic and hydrogen bomb, before this class I knew all about the destruction that the bomb had caused but in my mind it was just this hunk of metal that U.S bomber plan dropped on Hiroshima and than boom and big explosion and lots of death, destruction and massive amounts of radiation. Now I know about the fission process which produces energy to drive the explosion of nuclear weapons. Even more interesting to me as well is the history behind the bomb itself, not just the politics and the decision but the history behind the science. The race between the United States, Russia and Germany too acquire nuclear technology, or their rational behind the decision not to pursue the bomb. One of the things I enjoyed most about the course was the blogs. The freedom that went with the blogging assignment allowed me to research and write about topics that truly interested me. It may have been apparent but I love looking for the connections between the popular culture of the time and the politics. One of my favorite blogs that I enjoyed writing was the Dr.Strangelove blog, it also happens to be one of my favorite movie and this gave me a chance to write about how clever the movie was showing us the danger behind deterrence and Mutually Assured Destruction and that the world could be destroyed by human error. While some people still think this is outlandish, when you look back at two of the major nuclear power plant catastrophes (Chernobyl and Three Mile Island) bad design of the plant and human error and miscommunication were the main causes, at Three Mile Island countless scientist were predicting that a hydrogen bubble in the core was going to cause a massive explosion and destroy Middletown, PA. Ironic thing is that all these top government ranking scientist were using the wrong formula. It’s these little details that make history so fascinating.
Although I won’t miss the agonizing dread of Professor Walker drawing the index card with my name on it, I will miss this class but am pleased to have proven my parents and brother wrong, as well as happy that I had one class that would make my first term here at Union interesting without the depressing stress and worry about failing which was nice.

Today's Nuclear Threat

The November Scientific American magazine contained an article which I found to be extremely thought provoking thus causing me to write a blog on it and share the main information in the article. The main concept of the article combined the idea of a future threat of nuclear war and debating it with the question on the need for new nuclear warheads. Below are the main points in the article that I felt necessary to include. Many of us know the past history concerning nuclear weapons and their threat to the world, few of us probably realize the threat it is still real and in some ways more imminent today. I personally have only thought about nuclear war in the past tense when describing the Cold War. I was shocked to learn that now not only Russia but nine other countries have the ability to launch nuclear warheads. Five countries have the ability to cause mass destruction from the sea by launching the warheads from submarines. The stakes have been considerably raised since the Cold War, many still remember 9/11 like it was yesterday allowing the fear of being attacked again on U.S territory considerably greater and seem more realistic. What makes the fear heighten is the knowledge that there is no defense against a nuclear attack.

• “Nine countries can now deliver nuclear war heads on ballistic missiles, and Iran wants to join this club. Several nations could hit targets anywhere in the world, but regional salvos might be more likely.”

• “Today’s weapons could exact greater death and injury than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Simulations performed for SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN of a one mega-ton payload detonated above Manhattan show that millions would die from the resulting explosion, mass fires and radiation. Other cities worldwide would fare just as badly.”


• “The U.S had embarked on a 25-year program to replace thousands of aging W76 nuclear warheads, which military officials say could be degrading. Proponents claim that the substitute weapon- the Reliable Replacement Warhead RRW) is essential to maintaining the U.S stockpile as a credible deterrent. Critics argue that RRW is a waste of billions of dollars and could goad other nations into a renewed nuclear arms race.”


The pro’s and cons for the replacing the U.S stockpile are both realistic sounding and as far away from each other on a scale as possible. On one hand we can replace our stockpile and this will “goad” other countries into a nuclear arms race. Or there is the idea that if we don’t replace the aging warhead than we are at risk of loosing the credibility of deterrence; which is essential to keeping a nuclear war at bay. The middle ground it seems was The Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reduction limits of Russia and the U.S to a maximum of 2,200 “operationally deployed warheads by 2012. Another scary scenario concerning the idea of deterrence with a substantial nuclear armory in the day and age of terrorist threats is that it won’t influence their use of nuclear weapons. Scary, what I took from this article is that instead of pouring so much of our nation’s energy and resources into a continually escalating battle, why not instead focus more on our nations defense system.

"The Happiest Place on Earth" Just not for Khrushchev

Ever since seventh grade I have been addicted to old time radio and the black and white age of Hollywood, the classics. My heroes were Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Orson Wells and Humphrey Bogart, who are remembered today for their revolution of comedy, refusal to be censored and ability to redefine Hollywood. July 23, 2003 was a dark day for me, the day Bob Hope (age 100) died; I remember being devastated as he represented to me, the death of an era.

When discussing Khrushchev I can’t help but to think back to one of my favorite books “I owe Russia 1200$” by Bob Hope. The introduction to the book describes a rather famous event in U.S History. Khrushchev’s visit to the United States in 1959 his denied entrance to Walt Disneyland and his tirade at a luncheon at 20th Century Fox studios. According to Hope, he was seated next to the premier’s wife at this luncheon and suggested that she visit Disneyland. When Khrushchev asked the Secret Service about this he was denied due for “security reasons. His response to this setback in his itinerary is what I find fascinating; the Premier of Russia the country vying for Superstar status over the US, the infamous “Butcher of Ukraine” threw a complete hissy fit!!! Here's an excerpt from the remarks that Khrushchev made that afternoon:

"We have come to this town where lives the cream of American art. And just imagine (that) I, a Premier, a Soviet representative, when I came here to this city, I was given a plan. A program of what I was to be shown and whom I was to meet here.

But just now I was told that I could not go to Disneyland. I asked 'Why not? What is it? Do you have rocket-launching pads there?' I do not know.

And just listen - just listen to what I was told - to what reason I was told. We, which means the American authorities, can not guarantee your security if you go there.
What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken over the place that can destroy me? Then what must I do? Commit suicide?

This is the situation I am in. Your guest. For me, this situation is inconceivable. I can not find words to explain this to my people."

You can tell that he is a bit put off and extremely peeved at being denied the chance to meet Mickey Mouse. After the luncheon while touring houses in L.A, Khrushchev refused to even get out of the limousine as he pouted inside the car, Khrushchev reportedly told his State Department handlers that "... putting me in a closed car and stewing me in the sun is not the right way to guarantee my safety. This (not being allowed to go to Disneyland) development causes me bitter regret. I thought I could come here as a free man." Another interesting read is Khrushev's speech at the civic dinner in L.A in which he states the anger he feels torwards the American tendency to make everything into a joke "I am talking seriously because I have come here with serious intentions, and you try to reduce the matter to simply a joke. It is a question of war or peace between our countries, a question of the life or death of the people."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,811257-9,00.html
Khrushchev’s visit to the U.S was very important even though it was slightly marred by this security issue. It represented the early attempts at détente with Russia, and for Russia this meant competition with the West was not over, but, for Khrushchev, this competition had to be ideological, economic, and technological rather than military.

Dr. Strangelove Teaches the World to Love the Bomb

In 1964 Stanley Kubrick directed a black humor film entitled “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Kubrick drew his inspiration for what is arguably one of the best political satires of this century from the subtle and unstable “Balance of Terror” existing between nuclear powers (Soviets and USA) and its intrinsic paradoxical character. Dr. Strangelove continually makes fun of the numerous cold war attitudes and fears such as the missile gap and the arms race. The end result is that Kubrick hopes to show us the follies of nuclear weapons and their threat to a rational society.
During the Cold War, Americans justified their possession of the atomic bomb by rationalizing that it was necessary to have the bomb in order to deter other nations from using their own weapons. America needed these weapons in order to deter Russia from attacking the United States without fear of retaliation, “Deterrence is the art of producing in the enemy the fear of attack” is Dr. Strangelove’s explanation for the "Doomsday Machine". In the movie, Russia had created what they considered the ultimate deterrence called “the doomsday machine”. A weapon so powerful, that it would destroy all human and animal life on earth, and produce a lethal cloud of radioactivity that would encircle the earth for 93 years causing massive fallout. The rationale for this comes with the flawed logic behind the idea that no one would attack a country knowing that it meant the end of the world would come. However, this ultimate system of deterrence is also quite flawed because it leaves itself open to the possibility that human or technical error in turning the doomsday device on could result in a world wide nuclear holocaust and the end of life as we know it. The joke behind this paradox is one of the main themes that we see throughout the film. The other flaw behind the idea of this ultimate deterrence was stated best by Peter Sellers (who is awesome!!! He played 3 of the main characters in this film):

Dr. Strangelove: “Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you *keep* it a *secret*! Why didn't you tell the world, EH?”

Ambassador de Sadesky: It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the Premier loves surprises.

The idea behind a Doomsday machine is so "terrifying and yet so simple to understand while at the same time completely credible and convincing". Who would attack a country knowing that the repercussion of this would be the end of the world? It is the ultimate hand in a poker game which was essentially how the cold war was played out, in a series of bluffs between the United States and Russia.

A side note to all you Star Wars fans out there, James Earl Jones plays the role of Lt. Lothor Zogg in Dr. Strangelove. If any of you are looking for an incentive to see this masterpiece. If not you all should see it anyway!! Much of what we've discussed in class concerning the Cold War is presented cleary throughout the film.

"Two Cas in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish"

This is the title of a Simpson’s episode in which Lisa and Bart go fishing in the river next to Springfield’s nuclear power plant and catch a fish with three eyes. Homer tries to argue that the fish’s appearance is due to evolution but everyone knows it’s a mutation due to the radioactive waste from the power plant. This episode struck me as interesting because the negative effects that nuclear power plants have had on the environment in the United States is real. One particular case that is rather recent is the Yakama Nation situation in 2003 the tribe filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy; contending that the DOE has failed to protect the Columbia River from pollution from the Hanford nuclear reservation. That the declining Northwest salmon populations in the last 50 years are due to the radioactive materials like uranium and strontium that remain in the river sediment while other radioactive hazards and wastes that were buried or dumped at Hanford years ago have worked their way into the groundwater.

Another example is the Beaverlodge Uranium Mill where millions of tons of liquid and solid waste were directly dumped into Fookes Lake (early 1980s). This is a totally blind long-nose sucker fish caught downstream from the Beaverlodge uranium mill. This fish is a casualty of radioactive and heavy metal pollution — the eyes have no pupils. Blindness in fish is a known result of radioactive contamination from uranium mines; fish accumulate so many radioactivities in their bodies that in some areas immediately downstream from uranium mines, they present a health hazard if eaten regularly. These are just two examples of the dire effects that nuclear power can have on the environment when the strictest safety regulations are not adhered.

While there is much promise in the future of nuclear science its past is ugly and full of skeletons, that won’t go away. In places outside the USA like Chernobyl where it is estimated that 17,000 people will die from cancer caused by the Chernobyl fallout over the next 50 years. The film “Chernobyl Heart” is a sobering look at the fallout effects from 1986 that are literally killing babies in the womb. Only a 5% of children living in the Chernobyl region are healthy and the children are particularly susceptible to radiation-induced illnesses. Many have Leukemia, cancer of the thyroid and other cancers. Brain tumors are also now greatly increased. Babies are born with many different deformities. These kid are born without a chance at a successful or healthy life a quote that really made an impact on me is from humanitarian Adi Roche: “Children are being exposed to it particularly through dairy products, they are being exposed to it in the water; you know when they swim or fish in their streams or their rivers, even though they're not supposed to, but you cannot tell people they cannot do these things when children play in un-sandy roads or in their back yards or in sand pits in their school yards; they cannot avoid the fallout. When kids are going to dig and they’ll play and then of course the farmers are constantly out and plowing up the land and their plowing up the radioactivity and it gets back into the food chain – whether you’re a vegetarian or not – it makes no difference because it’s in the vegetables as much as it is in the animal life.” To think that this horrific accident was due largely because of human err and folly makes one think. Indian Point Energy Center is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchannan, NY just 24 miles of New York City. Anything is possible. Would we be ready if a calamity like Chernobyl occurred?

The Trinity Test: From my Grandma’s back porch

The trinity test was the first test ever of a nuclear weapon; it was conducted on July 16, 1945 at 5:29:45am in New Mexico at what is now known as White Sands Missile Range. This test was crucial for various reasons; its success gave Truman leverage against Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, and following the test, two bombs were prepared and then dropped at different dates on Hiroshima (Aug 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9). Effectively ending the war and also marking the beginning of the commonly referred to “Atomic Age” leading into the cold war.

This topic is of particular interest to me because my grandmother lived in Belen, New Mexico at the time of the Trinity Test. Belen is roughly 176 miles North of Alamogordo but even that distance was of little consequence, my grandma described witnessing it “as the sky just lighting up as if it was on fire”. Imagine the variety of emotions all those who had witnessed this event such as my grandma experienced. Initial confusion at what they had just witnessed, some could have even have interpreted it as the apocalypse. Visualize the whole just lighting on fire and dependent upon proximity the after effects of the bomb’s explosion (windows rattling, earth shaking, and loud boom). Then later to have army officials appear at your door with the pathetic excuse, that there had been a secret ammunition dump in Alamogordo that had caught fire causing the explosion witnessed. The gossip in the surrounding towns must have been wild with conspiracy stories, and then on August 6th learning of the bombing of Hiroshima and the immediate deaths of 70,000+ men, women and children. Realization of the unleashed power of this weapon which had been detonated only a short distance from their homes by the US Army and seeing all the death, destruction and pain it was causing in Japan. To have witnessed firsthand something with the power to destroy the world, scary and emotionally damaging too many like my grandmother; I remember as a littler girl my grandmother telling me this story as a bogey man story. Be a good little girl otherwise the Army will drop a bomb on your town whose effects will be evident for many generations to follow.

The Genius of Farm Hall

During World War II, scientific research was beginning to focus on nuclear technology, something that was new, unknown, and exciting. This field of research was full of opportunities and promise of publication, which in the scientific community is crucial to success. A main misconception, however, involving Germany and their nuclear research was their end goal. Many believe that Germany was like America racing to build the bomb to end the war. Germany was actually more focused on the industrial prospects of nuclear technology and government officials did not believe that “the wonder weapon” could be completed before the end of the war. Their ideology was that, the weapons they were using were proving quite effective, so why change? This lasted until Germany began to lose, then they began to allot generous funding to nuclear research in attempt to create “the wonder weapon”. History is quite clear on the fact that German scientist were unsuccessful in building the bomb, what is not clear, however, is why.
Operation Epsilon was the code name of an allied operation at the end of World War II, where they arrested and detained ten German scientist who were suspected of working Nazi nuclear weapons, from May 1 to December 1945. The scientists were detained in Farm Hall a house in Godsmanchester, England that was wiretapped. The main objective was to determine how close Germany had been to constructing the atomic bomb. The genius behind this operation was the simplicity of it all. These scientists weren’t Gestapo or the SS, they were just scientist, they’re specialty was physics not interrogation techniques. Their primary concerns were simple, what had become of their families and what was to become of them. Over time they became focused on internal conflicts such as “Was I a Nazi?” and “Did We Want to Make Atomic Bombs?” Although the results from Operation Epsilon are on the whole inconclusive on the issue of why exactly German failed to make the atomic bomb; the impact of America’s success with nuclear research was devastatingly clear. Germany had assumed they were leading the nuclear research race; much of their time post Hiroshima was spent trying to figure out how. Pure brilliance, give a group of German scientist news that they had lost the nuclear race the therefore could be considered inferior to America; and then not tell them how it was done. They were able to listen to these scientists desperately attempt to figure out where they had gone wrong and thus conclude how close Germany was to acquiring nuclear technology; or rather how far Germany had been from successfully building an atomic bomb

The First Test

The First Physics Test
I don’t know about everyone else but I am relieved to get that first test over with; especially since that was my first test as a college student. I was unhappy with how I responded to the question, involving the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. I figured that would be the topic of this blog. In a slight attempt to redeem myself for the foolish answer I gave on the test. Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in equation form looks like this: where is the uncertainty in position, is the uncertainty in momentum, and is h-bar. Now if you were to ask me to use this formula to calculate something I would be completely lost be unable to. When professor Maleki wrote this on the board I remember thinking to myself “what the hell is that!!?” This confusion was brief as Prof. Maleki followed with an explanation what event my little brothers would have been able to follow. Their will always be an inherent value of uncertainty in the results. Precision in measurements is near impossible dependent upon your instruments. The main point was that you can’t measure all the values at once or as Prof. Maleki repeatedly stated “Nature is allusive” That you can not find the exact position and momentum of an object, or you can not know the exact energy and time of an object. This is conflict with Classical Physics which states that you can all measurements are obtainable the only obstacle would be the precision and accuracy of the equipment and observer. Whereas Heisenberg states that regardless of faulty equipment or human miscalculations that certain measurements are unobtainable. This in my opinion is extremely disturbing, that science can be limited like this.

The Hypocrisy of Communism and Science

I find it fascinating that when we discuss the Russian Revolution and its affect on Russia’s scientific policy and scientists; we overlook completely the hypocrisy of it all. Karl Marx once said that "In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic." It is this ideology that motivated the October Revolution in 1917. The Bolsheviks quickly turned Russia into a communist state, by taking control of the banks and factories and attempting to eliminate all private property. They wanted a classless/proletarian society. That science should be brought to the masses and you could turn your average factory worker into a physicist overnight. The days of exploiting the workers would be over and the elitist scientific community abolished. This obviously had many issues, the main one being that science is an elite profession for a reason, and you can’t turn factory workers into scientist.
Rather to ensure rapid industrial progress they needed the scientists and this is where we see the re-establishment of scientists as a privileged community. While most of Russia was facing famine and poverty, a so called scholar’s ration had been set up that provided financial, health, cultural, housing assistance and monthly gold ruble allowances based upon seniority. The workers are no longer taking precedence over the scientist. This is not to say that the scientists had it easy, they were the subject of relentless persecution over accountability of their research. Physicists became forcibly focused on finding solutions to pressing technological issues such as metals, fuels, electrification and communications. As time went on we begin to see Russia becoming protective of their scientists and scientific research. Russian scientists became isolated from the rest of the world. The Soviets spent massive amounts of money to bring foreign speakers to lecture about the latest discoveries and research. This was a one way deal as Russian Scientists were unable to travel abroad and soon Russia disappeared behind the “Iron Curtain”.
While Soviet Russia had realized that in order to survive they had to reintroduce capitalism at a low level, where everyone would still work for the state but as well as for themselves (New Economic Plan 1924). This marked the beginning of Russia’s ascension to one of the world’s superpowers at the end of World War 2.

When looking at the different types of physics, it is best to start off with asking ourselves exactly what physics is. What separates physics from other sciences? The simplest one that I discovered was “the science of matter and energy and their interactions”. This still just is too much for my history focused brain; to me physics is an attempt to describe reality. That is dependent on two very important things: Quantification and Empirical Laws. While over the last few decades the science of physics has evolved rapidly from the time of Aristotelian Physics; basically using logic to discern information and postulate theories. To having a particle accelerator that stretches out for sixteen miles and has a five story detector, underground (CERN). As you can see the way modern scientist approach physics has become an insanely complicated sounding process, I have no idea what a particle accelerator is but apparently it is the future of physics. Generally modern physics is known as the time period near the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th. Any discoveries or developments before this can be classified as classical physics. This is not the only thing that separates the two, the way that physics was viewed and approached was different as well. Physicists of the classical time period used a clock metaphor to describe the physical world. That the motion and interaction of the gears were predictable, and that with a little more work, they soon would have a complete understanding of the whole clock. They were so certain of this that they developed a blind eye to the big questions like; where does the sun get its energy. Instead the know-it-all attitude was developed. This apparently is a common attitude for scientist it has been exhibited numerous times over time.
Germany is a perfect example of this, during the Weimar Republic; the attitude German scientist was one of extreme superiority. After the war Germany had little upon which to rest its laurels and they began to take great pride in their status as one of worlds leading scientific countries. That is fine, Germany had just lost a war and their country was in major debt having to pay for wartime reparations as well as having to deal with a failing economy. It is when you pollute the purity of science with politics that you run into problems and complications. George Hale had the noble idea of beginning an international research program in attempt to connect scientist to learn from each other. The only issue was that no one really wanted Germany to be a part of this program, except the neutral countries. That’s because they were able to look past the politics and at what was best for scientific growth. However others were harboring a personal vendetta against Germany; like France who were suffering heavy personal and economic loss due to the war. America refused to participate in any exclusion of Germany from this council. Wilson had continually stated that “America’s quarrel was with the rulers, not the people of Germany”. By the time the Allie-International Committee realized their mistake in isolating one of the most powerful scientific countries in the world they were to late. Germany wanted nothing to do with anyone but Germany. Science had been propelled to a position of power and it was one of the few things that Germany could be proud of. The citizens looked after their scientist, treating them like superstars and the government took care of their scientist through government funding.
One of Germany’s superstars was a physicist known as Albert Einstein. Einstein left his mark in scientific history, with his theory of relativity something that was so revolutionary that it completely changed people perception of the world and themselves. Einstein was much more than that however, he was a genius. His life and career were filled with complications and turmoil. His theories though wildly popular to most of the world faced great persecution from others (Lenard), he was subjected to anti-semantic feelings that targeted not only his religion, and heritage but also his research. Einstein was on a rollercoaster of public opinion. From one of the most beloved citizens to the most hated. All due to his refusal to allow personal politics to hamper or impede scientific progress. As impressive all of his discoveries and research and theories were. That is not what I find truly fascinating about Einstein. I don’t full understand the importance of his theories in relevance to everyday life. What made an impact on me was his dedication to his causes; he was a Zionist and pacifist. He believed in the Zionist cause the cultural cause , that Palestine could become a place for Jews to pursue their dreams and establish a safe place in which they did not have to fear persecution. Einstein had three main beliefs concerning politics: 1) Rejection of autocratic forms of governments. 2) “the individuals creativity is more precious than the political state as well as a more important asset.” 3) That a military mentality was a heinous thing. Einstein during this period was deeply offended by those Jews who readily attempted to assimilate into Germanys new vision of a model citizen. He was a man who was about taking a stand and having self respect. As a pacifist, he was in favor of disarmament he was also an idealist who had visions of world peace. He was warmly welcomed in America where he was officially able to sever ties from Germany and start anew in a democratic society that welcomes and nourishes the individual. Einstein continued to spread his political views in hopes that it would make a difference one day. He discussed with American youths about rebel against conscription and not to allow themselves to be brainwashed and sacrificed for the cause. Rather to take their idealism, passions, and intellect and direct it towards politics.
“One of the strongest motives leading to scientific and artistic creativity stems from a longing to escape the painful realities of the everyday world in a search for higher truths.” (Schopenhauer)
This is how Albert Einstein lived his life, In pursuit of those “higher truths” and it was a battle that encompassed many different areas of life. Anyone who can dedicate their life to this sort of monumental quest and make significant progress deserves to be made timeless figure.