Dr. EdwardTeller Dr. EdwardTeller was bornJanuary 15, 1908, in Budapest,Hungary to Max (a lawyer) and IlonaTeller. At the age of eleven, he would experiencefirsthand the pains of communist revolutionin his own country. These experienceswould framehis view of the world forthe restof his life. Later,at his father'surging that he study in a "practicalfield," Teller headed to the Universityof Budapest wherehe graduatedin 1925. Teller went on to study under Werner Heisenbergat the University of Leipzig,receiving his Ph.D. in theoreticalphysics in 1930. During the early 1930s, he wrotemore than 30 papersoutlining fundamental contributionsto physical chemistryand quantum mechanics, emerging as a member of a coreof young gifted physicists. In 1935, he emigratedto the UnitedStates to escape Hitler's persecution of the Jews in Europe. Upon his arrivalin the U.S., Teller tooka positionat George Washington University. During his tenurethere, he collaboratedwith GeorgeGamow on problems dealingwith nuclear decay. At a nuclearphysics conferenceorganized by Gamowin 1939, the scientificcommunity was introducedto the potential energy sourcefound in U-235 fission. Shortlyafter, Teller tookhis closefriend Leo Szilard to meet with Albert Einstein. During the meeting, Szilardand Einstein drafteda letter toPresident Roosevelt outlining the constructionof a powerful new energy source(using the fissionprocess) that could be used for military purposes. This set in motion the creationof what becameknown as the Manhattan Project. As a senior scientiston the Project,Teller made a numberof importantcontributions to the building of the atom bomb. At the same time, he continued work on an idea he and Enrico Fermifirst discussed in 1940. Theirtheory was that a fissionprocess might beable to triggera a differentkind of nuclear reaction(fusion of Hydrogen atoms) to producea much more powerful"super bomb" (the H bomb). It would be lOOOxmore powerful than the Hiroshimaand Nagasaki atom bombs. With the successful completionof the ManhattanProject and the end of WWII,Teller joined the University of Chicago facultyand continued his research. Work on the "super bomb" at LosAlamos continued but at a pace slower than Teller preferred. He lobbiedaggressively fora new laboratorywhose sole purposewould be to producethe new H-bomb. Teller saw the bomb's massive power as a protectionof democracyin the U.S. and a deterrentto the spread of communism by the Soviet Union. Teller was appointed assistant director of the old LosAlamos laboratoryin 1949 where he continuedtheoretical work on H-bomb detonation. Thefirst H-bomb was explodedat Eniwetok in 1952. That same year,the LawrenceLivermore National Laboratorywas established. Its purposewas to develop and deliver the H-bomb. Teller servedas its associate director from 1954-58 and director from 1958-60. He has beenassociated with the lab in some capacityever since. In the 1960s,in oppositionto much public opinion, Tellercalled for continuedabove-ground testingfor the H-bomb. He also proposeda peacefuluse, Project Plowshare,in which the H bombcould beused as anexcavation tool for massive projects such asredirecting the flowof rivers or digging harbors. In the late 1960s,knowing the destructionthat would be caused by a missile-launched nuclearattack, Teller turnedhis attentionto methods for national defense. As earlyas 1968, the antimissile Spartanproject was designed tolaunch missiles high above the atmosphereand destroyincoming warheadswith X-rays. With the signing of the AntiballisticMissile Treaty,however, this project was scaleddown to a small missile system in NorthDakota. It was discontinued in 1976 forfinancial reasons. In the late 1970s Teller focusedhis effortson nuclearpower plant safety. The March 1979 accident at ThreeMile Island and Columbia Pictures releaseof "China Syndrome"heightened public concernsabout this formof energy production. Teller testified at length before Congress about safety systems and safety records of nuclear power plants in the U.S. The strain on Teller during this time was telling, and he suffered a heart attack the day after his testimony. His dark sense of humor was still evident, however, when he later ran an ad in The Wall Street Journal entitled "I Was the Only Victim of Three Mile Island."
Also at this time, theoretical work by Lowell Wood, a Teller protege at the Livermore Lab, suggested that X-rays might once again be used in a comprehensive defensive antimissile weapon. Successful start-up tests were conducted in late 1980. Code named Excalibur, these tests would become a central element in the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") plan. Teller convinced President Reagan to press for SDI as a national defense plan. By the mid- 1980s, technical problems associated with the actual construction of the X-ray laser forced it to be abandoned. Teller was deeply disappointed by this failure. He and others believe, however, that efforts to build such a system, which in turn caused the Soviet Union to allocate massive resources for its own weapons plan, created economic pressures that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet communist government
Today Teller continues to play a prominent role in science research. He recently has served as a consultant on nuclear reactor safety to former Soviet satellite countries. These governments are faced with the difficult task of providing safe sources of energy from aging power plants in times of economic hardship. Teller also writes and lectures frequently on all aspects of physics. In his most recent book, Conversations on the Dark Secrets of Phvsics. Teller tutors the reader on the basic concepts of modem physics he has had the privilege to investigate.
Patrick LaMaster
Edward Teller and the Politics of Science
It is in the person of Edward Teller that one of the great philosophical debates of modern times is focused. The scientific community has long regarded itself as ideologically or politically neutral in the sense that science sees itself as having a universal interest to free humanity from the limitations imposed on it by nature. Intellectuals outside of the scientific community as well as a few within it, contend that the quest for control over nature is in and of itself a political act in the sense that the domination of nature entails the domination of humankind Thus, a physicist of Teller's intellectual stature who is both openly and aggressively political in his professional and personal life makes many within the scientific community uncomfortable. Teller, a Hungarian emigre and subsequently a naturalized citizen of the United States, is probably most famous for his 50-year involvement in the nuclear arms industry which included the development (with mathematician-physicist Stanislaw Ulam) of the hydrogen bomb; his harshly critical testimony against J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 1954 loyalty-security hearings; his opposition to nuclear test-ban treaties in the 1960s and the SALT (strategic arts limitations talks) agreements in the 1970s; and his strenuous efforts on behalf of the Strategic Defense Initiative. He has always been openly and actively opinionated on political and military affairs and his opinions have a definable political identity.
Regardless of which side of the political issues one prefers or which side of the philosophical issue one chooses regarding the political or apolitical nature of scientific inquiry, Edward Teller merits the attention of all serious thinkers and educators. Here is a brilliant scientist openly immersed in the politics of our time who also embodies a philosophical debate at least as old as the Enlightenment
Michael DeHaven