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VOICE ONE:
I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA from VOA SpecialEnglish. Today, we tell about Edward Teller. He was one of thebest-known American scientists of the twentieth century.
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VOICE ONE:
Edward Teller was often called the “father of the hydrogen bomb.”However, he reportedly did not like that name. Teller helped developthe first nuclear weapons. Later, he was an activist for a strongnational defense. He was an important influence on America’s defenseand energy policies.
Experts say Teller’s strong support for defense resulted fromexperiences that helped shape his opinion of world events. One wasthe rise of the Nazi party while he lived in Germany during thenineteen-thirties.
VOICE TWO:
Edward Teller was born in Budapest, Hungary in nineteen-oh-eight.His father was a lawyer and his mother had strong musical abilities.His parents and teachers recognized at an early age that Edward wasexcellent in mathematics. Yet his father was unhappy when Edwardsaid he wanted to be a mathematician. He told his son thatmathematicians had trouble earning money. So Edward agreed to studychemistry. He went to Leipzig (LIPE-sick), Germany for hisuniversity education.While in Germany, Edward was in a streetcaraccident. One of his feet was cut off. He had to wear a man-made,replacement foot for the rest of his life.
VOICE ONE:
One of Teller’s professors in Leipzig was Werner Heisenberg(HIGH-zen-berg). Heisenberg helped invent the theory called quantummechanics. This theory involves the study of matter and radiation atan atomic level. It was one of the most important theories intwentieth century science. In nineteen-thirty-two, Heisenberg wonthe Nobel Prize for physics for developing the theory. Later heworked in Germany’s nuclear research program.
Edward Teller received a doctoratein physics from the University of Leipzig in nineteen-thirty. He wasa professor at the University of Gottingen (GUH-ting-en) for threeyears.
In nineteen-thirty-three, Adolf Hitler became Germany’sChancellor. Hitler and his Nazi Party organized a campaign againstJews and other minorities. This forced Teller and a number of otherJewish scientists to flee Germany. Teller and his wife, Mici(MEET-see), came to the United States in nineteen-thirty-five. Theybecame American citizens six years later.
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VOICE TWO:
By the late nineteen-thirties, scientists in several countrieswere learning how to split the nuclei of atoms. They discovered thatthis nuclear fission releases huge amounts of energy and could beused to create a powerful new weapon. Some scientists in the UnitedStates feared that Germany was developing an atomic bomb and wouldbe the first to use it as a weapon. One of those who believed thiswas a friend of Teller’s, Leo Szilard (SIL-ard). Like Teller,Szilard was a scientist who had left Hungary and come to live in theUnited States.
Szilard believed that the United States should have its ownprogram to develop atomic weapons. He wanted to get Americanofficials interested in such a program. He decided to seek help fromthe world’s most famous scientist, Albert Einstein.
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen-thirty-nine, Szilard prepared a letter to PresidentFranklin Roosevelt for Einstein to sign. The letter urged the needfor an atomic weapons program. Szilard decided to visit Einstein athis summer home near New York City. But Szilard could not drive acar, so he asked his friend Teller to drive them to Einstein’s home.Einstein signed the letter. It led to a secret American program todevelop an atomic bomb. This program was called the ManhattanProject.
To carry out the program, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratorywas secretly established in the southwestern state of New Mexico innineteen-forty-two. This was during World War Two. The United Stateswanted to build an atomic bomb before Germany or Japan did. Tellerjoined the project along with America’s other top scientists. He andhis wife brought their one-hundred-year-old piano to the New Mexicodesert. Teller often stayed up late, playing music written by Mozartand other famous composers.
VOICE TWO:
Edward Teller hoped to design a hydrogen fusion bomb, a device hecalled the “super.” The idea for the hydrogen bomb came from anotherscientist, Enrico Fermi (FER-me). Fermi suggested that the fusion ofhydrogen atoms might create an even more powerful force thansplitting them. Teller quickly accepted the idea.
However, the director of the Manhattan Project disagreed. J.Robert Oppenheimer wanted his team of scientists to develop anatomic bomb, not a hydrogen bomb. The Manhattan project succeeded indeveloping the world’s first atomic bomb. Its energy came fromsplitting the nuclei of uranium atoms.
VOICE ONE:
Edward Teller was among the scientists who gathered to see theworld’s first atomic test explosion. They watched as a huge cloudrose from the New Mexico desert on July sixteenth,ninety-forty-five. By that time, the war in Europe was over. TheGermans had never come close to creating an atomic bomb. But the warwith Japan continued. In an effort to end the war, United Statesplanes dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima andNagasaki on August sixth. Japan surrendered within days to end WorldWar Two.
VOICE TWO:
After the war, Edward Teller taught at the University of Chicagoin Illinois. Many scientists who helped develop the atomic bombreturned to civilian jobs. Some had problems with moral issues.
Years later, Teller wondered if the United States could haveshown Japanese leaders the power of the atom without destroying thetwo cities. Teller said he regretted that he and other scientistsdid not seek to demonstrate American power in some other way toinfluence Japan to end the war. Teller said: “If we could have endedthe war by showing the power of science without killing a singleperson, all of us would be happier, more reasonable and much moresafe.”
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VOICE ONE:
In nineteen-forty-nine, the Soviet Union tested its first atomicbomb. Suddenly, the United States faced its own threat of nuclearattack. Edward Teller believed the country needed a hydrogen bombfor defense. President Harry Truman agreed. Teller returned to LosAlamos and worked to develop the hydrogen bomb. Scientists testedthe bomb in the Pacific Ocean in nineteen-fifty-two.
VOICE TWO:
As the United States and the Soviet Union built more nuclearbombs, Edward Teller called for a second national nuclear weaponslaboratory. The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory opened near SanFrancisco, California in nineteen-fifty-two. Teller worked as anadvisor there. He served as director from nineteen-fifty-eight tonineteen-sixty. Then he became a professor at the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley. In the nineteen-sixties, opponents of theVietnam War criticized Teller for his work in developing nuclearweapons.
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VOICE ONE:
Edward Teller spent the rest of his life on matters of war andpeace. He believed that the security of the United States dependedon strong national defense. In nineteen-eighty, Teller said hebelieved nuclear war with the Soviet Union was possible. He said: “I cannot just go back to physics because I believe that to preventanother war happens to be … more important.”
In the nineteen-eighties, Teller argued for a missile-defensesystem for the United States. Teller strongly supported PresidentRonald Reagan’s proposed Strategic Defense Initiative. It called forspace satellites armed with lasers to destroy possible nuclearmissiles directed at the United States.
This program became known as “Star Wars.” Critics said it wouldcost too much money to develop and would not work. It was neverbuilt. However, President Bush has renewed the idea of establishinga missile-defense system to protect the United States.
VOICE TWO:
Edward Teller received many honors during his life. Intwo-thousand-three, he was awarded the Presidential Medal ofFreedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. That same year, Tellersuffered a stroke. He died at his home on the campus of StanfordUniversity in Palo Alto, California. He was ninety-five years old.Until his last days, Edward Teller continued to support the idea ofa system to defend the country against a danger he helped create.
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VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by George Grow andproduced by Lawan Davis. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLEIN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.