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Albert Einstein 1879-1955

Albert Einstein 1879-1955


Einstein was undoubtedly the single greatest contributor to science in the 20th
century. Few will argue with that point. His gifts to today's understanding of
the universe, energy, time among others base many branches of modern science.

His contributions are not restricted only to the fields of science, but also to
the individual person: from powerful heads of states to the average citizen.
Albert Einstein helped Oppenheimer1 develop the fundamental science needed to
break atoms, causing massive amounts of energy to be released. There are two
common forms of this technology today, the Nuclear Power Plants, and the Atomic,
or Nuclear Bomb.

During the WWII battles with Japan, the United States government instructed a
group of scientists to derive a new weapon, one that could potentially cause
large scale destruction emitting from a single bomb. Many notable scientists
contributed to this project, but none with as much global respect as Einstein.
With the help of his physics knowledge, the mission was accomplished: a weapon
yielding the force of thousands of tons of dynamite was tested at a government
installation test site in Nevada.

Soon after the United States used this weapon on Japan twice, The Soviet Union
developed their own nuclear weapon. The Arms Race was on. Suddenly both
countries expended large amounts of resources on making these bombs useful in
combat. Three hundred billion U.S. dollars2 were spent to ignite this project
and produce only a small number of functional bombs. The Soviet Union was
thought to have spent about equal amounts.

By the late 1950's what we now know as the Cold War erupted. Nuclear Holocaust
seemed inevitable. Tensions between the Communists and the States reached
monumental highs. The whole United States suddenly went into a panic mode that
would stay resident until the 1980's. Children on the first day of a new year
of school were taught where the fallout shelter was. Instead of swimming...