The Martians of Science : Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century

If science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the twentieth century in Budapest: Theodore von K?rm?n, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. From Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the twentieth century.They were an extraordinary group of talents: Wigner won a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics; Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible, initiated the Manhattan Project, but left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms; von Neumann could solve difficult problems in his head and developed the modern computer for more complex problems; von K?rm?n became the first director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, providing the scientific basis for the U.S. Air Force; and Teller was the father of the hydrogen bomb, whose name is now synonymous with the controversial "Star Wars" initiative of the 1980s. Each was fiercely opinionated, politically active, and fought against all forms of totalitarianism. Istv?n Hargittai, as a young Hungarian physical chemist, was able to get to know some of these great men in their later years, and the depth of information and human interest in The Martians of Science is the result of his personal relationships with the subjects, their families, and their contemporaries. If science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the twentieth century in Budapest: Theodore von Karman, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. From Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the twentieth century. They were an extraordinary group of talents. Wigner won a Nobel rize in theoretical physics. Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible, and he initiated the Manhattan Project, but he left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms. Von Neumann could solve difficult problems in his head and developed the modern computer for more complex problems. Von Kármán became the first director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, providing the scientific basis for the U.S. Air Force. Teller was the father of the hydrogen bomb, whose name is now synonymous with the controversial Star Wars initiative in the 1980s. Each was fiercly opinionated and poltically active, and they all fought against all forms of totalitarianism. István Hargittai, as a young Hungarian physical chemist, had the opportunity to get to know some of these great men in their later years, and the depth of information and human interest in The Martians of Science is the result of his personal relationships with the subjects, their families, and their contemporaries. -- from dust jacket "If science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the 20th century in the same neighborhood in Budapest: Theodore von Karman, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. Through immigration from Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the 20th century. They were an extraordinary group of talents: Wigner won a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics without ever having taken a formal college-level physics course, Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible but left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms, von Neumann could solve problems in his head for which most people needed computers, von Karman became the first director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and Teller was the father of the hydrogen bomb, whose name is now synonymous with the controversial "Star Wars" defense initiative of the 1980s. Each was fiercely opinionated and politically active, reactionaries against the fascism and anti-Semitism with which they had grown up. Istvan Hargittai, as a young Hungarian physicist, was able to get to know these great men in their later years, and the depth of information and human interest in this book is the result of his personal relationships with the subjects, their families and their contemporaries"--Publisher description If science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the twentieth century in Budapest: Theodore von Kármán, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. From Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the twentieth century. István Hargittai tells the story of this remarkable group: Wigner won a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics; Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible, initiated the Manhattan Project, but left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms; von Neumann could solve difficult problems in his head and developed the modern computer for more complex problems; von Kármán became the first director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, providing the scientific basis for the U.S. Air Force; and Teller was the father of the hydrogen bomb, whose name is now synonymous with the controversial'Star Wars'initiative of the 1980s. Each was fiercely opinionated, politically active, and fought against all forms of totalitarianism. Hargittai, as a young Hungarian physical chemist, was able to get to know some of these great men in their later years, and the depth of information and human interest in The Martians of Science is the result of his personal relationships with the subjects, their families, and their contemporaries. If science has the equivalent of a Bloomsbury group, it is the five men born at the turn of the twentieth century in Theodore von Krmn, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller. From Hungary to Germany to the United States, they remained friends and continued to work together and influence each other throughout their lives. As a result, their work was integral to some of the most important scientific and political developments of the twentieth century. They were an extraordinary group of Wigner won a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics; Szilard was the first to see that a chain reaction based on neutrons was possible, initiated the Manhattan Project, but left physics to try to restrict nuclear arms; von Neumann could solve difficult problems in his head and developed the modern computer for more complex problems; von Krmn became the first director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, providing the scientific basis for the U.S. Air Force; and Teller was the father of the hydrogen bomb, whose name is now synonymous with the controversial "Star Wars" initiative of the 1980s. Each was fiercely opinionated, politically active, and fought against all forms of totalitarianism. Istvn Hargittai, as a young Hungarian physical chemist, was able to get to know some of these great men in their later years, and the depth of information and human interest in The Martians of Science is the result of his personal relationships with the subjects, their families, and their contemporaries. Contents......Page 19 Introduction......Page 21 Family Origins and Early Childhood......Page 29 Gem and Less: Gimnázium Experience......Page 37 Background in Hungary and First Transition......Page 43 Theodore von Kármán......Page 59 Leo Szilard......Page 68 Eugene P. Wigner......Page 76 John von Neumann......Page 83 Edward Teller......Page 85 THREE: Second Transition: To the United States......Page 91 Theodore von Kármán......Page 92 Leo Szilard......Page 97 Eugene P. Wigner......Page 105 John von Neumann......Page 121 Edward Teller......Page 123 FOUR: “To Protect and Defend”: World War II......Page 129 Theodore von Kármán......Page 130 Leo Szilard......Page 136 Eugene P. Wigner......Page 155 John von Neumann......Page 162 Edward Teller......Page 166 FIVE: To Deter: Cold War......Page 171 Theodore von Kármán......Page 173 Leo Szilard......Page 178 Eugene P. Wigner......Page 194 John von Neumann......Page 196 Edward Teller......Page 200 Comparisons......Page 227 Traits......Page 251 Religion and Jewishness......Page 265 Being Hungarian......Page 267 Greatness in Science......Page 287 Had They Lived.........Page 292 Conclusion......Page 296 Appendix: Sampler of Quotable Martians......Page 299 Notes......Page 311 Select Bibliography......Page 347 Chronologies......Page 353 B......Page 361 E......Page 362 G......Page 363 K......Page 364 M......Page 365 N......Page 366 P......Page 367 S......Page 368 T......Page 369 W......Page 370 Z......Page 371 Photographs......Page 107 Tells The Story Of Five Little-known Hungarian Physicists Who Transformed 20th Century Science. They Emigrated To The United States From Hungary In The 1930's, And Were Important Contributors To Such Important Experiments As The Manhattan Project. Introduction -- 1. Arrival And Departure -- Family Origins And Early Childhood -- Gem And Less : Gimnázium Experience -- Background In Hungary And First Transition -- 2. Turning Points In Germany -- Theodore Von Kármán -- Leo Szilard -- Eugene P. Wigner -- John Von Neumann -- Edward Teller -- 4. To Protect And Defend : World War Ii -- Theodore Von Kármán -- Leo Szilard -- Eugene P. Wigner -- John Von Neumann -- Edward Teller -- 5. To Deter : Cold War -- Theodore Von Kármán -- Leo Szilard -- Eugene P. Wigner -- John Von Neumann -- Edward Teller -- 6. Being Martian -- Comparisons -- Traits -- Religion And Jewishness -- Being Hungarian -- Epilogue -- Greatness In Science -- Had They Lived -- Conclusion -- Appendix : Sampler Of Quotable Martians -- Notes -- Select Bibliography -- Chronologies -- Index. István Hargittai. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 289-294) And Index.