Why Einstein Thought Nuclear Weapons Were Impossible

Without neutrons, harnessing nuclear energy would be impossible.

Special thanks to Patreon supporters:
Tony Fadell, Donal Botkin, Michael Krugman, Jeff Straathof, Zach Mueller, Ron Neal, Nathan Hansen, Yildiz Kabaran,
Terrance Snow

A few years ago I made a documentary about uranium, radioactivity and radiation. I always thought of the characters in our story as the scientists and maybe the uranium nucleus itself. It was only through making the documentary that I realized the real hero of the story is the neutron. Without a neutral nuclear particle, it would be virtually impossible to release the energy from the nucleus. But with it, and the idea of a chain reaction, nuclear energy went from science fiction to reality. That is something I had not grasped as clearly before and it motivated me to make this video.

Filmed by Raquel Nuno.

[aquaman]

"Damn"
- Albert Einstein

[FishyBoyo]

“The longest supporter of this channel: Audible”
his first patreon supporter:

[johnchessant]

It's crazy how quickly it developed. The neutron was discovered in 1932. Thirteen years later, you had atomic bombs dropped on two cities.

[rana]

Neutron is neither hero, nor a villain, it is truly in its essence, neutral

[ridwansetiadi]

The Sci-Fi writer: "They called me a mad man."

[SecretRaginMan]

"If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong." -Arthur C. Clarke

[willerwin]

One factual error: it’s actually easy to keep a nuclear reactor operating at a steady level of power. The physics involved make reactors self-stabilizing. It’s not a matter of balancing on a knife’s edge; it’s a matter of getting into and staying in a deep rut. Making a nuclear weapon is far harder than making a nuclear reactor; you have to overcome those factors by creating a combination of unnatural conditions with a precision timing.

Nuclear reactors cannot explode like nuclear weapons can. Worst case, they can spike in heat and cause a much smaller chemical or steam explosion.

[ravixv]

He knew the spoilers of Oppenheimer...5 years back

[danieljensen]

Important thing to remember, sometimes even brilliant scientists are completely wrong, but they are always proven wrong by people who are also experts in the field, not random keyboard warriors.

[TheBoundBowman]

Imagine throwing uranium in your drawer next to your keys.

[raphidermaphi]

Funny that this video gets recommended right before I want to watch Oppenheimer

[ranglix]

man someone should make a movie about this

[panda]

6:04
...the neutron is the hero.. or the villain.
No, i think he is neither, he is quite neutral.
(sorry, bad joke)

[TheShadowIsMine]

Word to the wise, never be the person quoted as saying something can’t be done haha.

[jomes]

Watching this after watching Oppenheimer

[kog]

“Albert. When I came to you with those calculations we thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world.”

“I remember it well.”

“I believe we did.”

[davidm.]

When Charlie Chaplin met Albert Einstein, Albert said "What I most admire about your art, is your universality. You don't say a word, yet the world understands you"
Chaplin: 'True. But your glory is even greater! The whole world admires you, even though they don't understand a word of what you say

[choxoletyo]

Step 1: become a scientist
Step 2: say space travel isn't possible
Step 3: wait 20 years
Step 4:??
Step:5 profit

[sergiolagunilla]

Who’s here after Oppenheimer and Veritasium’s video about it?

[maximumoverdrive]

Plot twist: He knew it was possible and wanted to discourage people from figuring it out.