Science / Scientist Datebook: January 15
Edward Teller (1908-2003), was born on January 15, 1908, in Budapest, Hungary, and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s. He is often referred to as "the father of the hydrogen bomb." He studied in the universities of Leipzig and Karlsruhe, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Teller was a co-founder of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was both its director and associate director for many years. His prominent awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Albert Einstein Award, and the National Medal of Science for Physical Science, among others.
Teller and his bride, Augusta Harkanyi, went to the U.S. in 1935, where he taught at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Together with his colleague George Gamow, he established new rules for classifying the ways subatomic particles can escape the nucleus during radioactive decay.
Following Bohr’s report on uranium atom fission in 1939 and inspired by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt who had called for scientists to act to defend the U.S. against Nazism, Teller resolved to devote his energies to developing nuclear weapons. By 1941 he became a U.S. citizen and joined Enrico Fermi's team at the University of Chicago in the epochal experiment to produce the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
Numerous Contributions
Teller made many contributions to physics, in particular, the Jahn-Teller and Renner-Teller effects. His extension of Enrico Fermi's theory of beta decay, in the form of Gamow-Teller transitions, provided a stepping stone in its application, while the Jahn–Teller effect and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory remain as mainstays in physics and chemistry.
He also made contributions to Thomas-Fermi theory, the precursor of density functional theory, a standard modern tool in the quantum mechanical treatment of complex molecules.In 1953, Teller co-authored a paper with Nicholas Metropolis and Marshall Rosenbluth, which is a standard starting point for the applications to the statistical mechanics of the Monte Carlo method.
An early member of the Manhattan Project charged with developing the first atomic bombs, Teller made a push to develop the first fusion-based weapons but these were deferred until after the Second World War. He was ostracized by the scientific community after his controversial testimony in the security clearance hearing of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a former Los Alamos colleague. However, he continued to find support from the U.S. government and military research establishment, particularly for his advocacy for nuclear energy development, a strong nuclear arsenal, and a vigorous nuclear testing program.
Later Years
Edward Teller became known for his advocacy of controversial technological solutions to both military and civilian problems, including a plan to excavate an artificial harbor in Alaska using thermonuclear explosive called the Project Chariot. He was a vigorous advocate of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.
Throughout his life, Teller was known both for his scientific ability and his difficult interpersonal relations and volatile personality. He died on September 9, 2003, in Stanford, California. He is considered one of the inspirations for the character Dr. Strangelove in the 1964 movie of the same name. An asteroid, 5006 is named after him. His final paper, published posthumously, advocated the construction of a prototype liquid fluoride thorium reactor.
Resources:
Physicist Edward Teller is known as "the father of the hydrogen bomb"
Edward Teller (1908-2003), was born on January 15, 1908, in Budapest, Hungary, and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s. He is often referred to as "the father of the hydrogen bomb." He studied in the universities of Leipzig and Karlsruhe, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Teller was a co-founder of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was both its director and associate director for many years. His prominent awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Albert Einstein Award, and the National Medal of Science for Physical Science, among others. Teller and his bride, Augusta Harkanyi, went to the U.S. in 1935, where he taught at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Together with his colleague George Gamow, he established new rules for classifying the ways subatomic particles can escape the nucleus during radioactive decay.
Following Bohr’s report on uranium atom fission in 1939 and inspired by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt who had called for scientists to act to defend the U.S. against Nazism, Teller resolved to devote his energies to developing nuclear weapons. By 1941 he became a U.S. citizen and joined Enrico Fermi's team at the University of Chicago in the epochal experiment to produce the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
Numerous Contributions
Teller made many contributions to physics, in particular, the Jahn-Teller and Renner-Teller effects. His extension of Enrico Fermi's theory of beta decay, in the form of Gamow-Teller transitions, provided a stepping stone in its application, while the Jahn–Teller effect and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory remain as mainstays in physics and chemistry.
He also made contributions to Thomas-Fermi theory, the precursor of density functional theory, a standard modern tool in the quantum mechanical treatment of complex molecules.In 1953, Teller co-authored a paper with Nicholas Metropolis and Marshall Rosenbluth, which is a standard starting point for the applications to the statistical mechanics of the Monte Carlo method.
An early member of the Manhattan Project charged with developing the first atomic bombs, Teller made a push to develop the first fusion-based weapons but these were deferred until after the Second World War. He was ostracized by the scientific community after his controversial testimony in the security clearance hearing of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a former Los Alamos colleague. However, he continued to find support from the U.S. government and military research establishment, particularly for his advocacy for nuclear energy development, a strong nuclear arsenal, and a vigorous nuclear testing program.
Later Years
Edward Teller became known for his advocacy of controversial technological solutions to both military and civilian problems, including a plan to excavate an artificial harbor in Alaska using thermonuclear explosive called the Project Chariot. He was a vigorous advocate of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.
Throughout his life, Teller was known both for his scientific ability and his difficult interpersonal relations and volatile personality. He died on September 9, 2003, in Stanford, California. He is considered one of the inspirations for the character Dr. Strangelove in the 1964 movie of the same name. An asteroid, 5006 is named after him. His final paper, published posthumously, advocated the construction of a prototype liquid fluoride thorium reactor.
Resources:
- Edward Teller. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed January 15, 2014.
- Edward Teller. Spartacus Educational. Accessed January 15, 2014.
- In Memoriam: Edward Teller. The University of California. Accessed January 15, 2014
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