JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Basis of Everything: Rutherford, Oliphant and the Coming of the Atomic Bomb. By Andrew Ramsey.

  • Published In: Twentieth Century British History, 2023, v. 34, n. 2. P. 397 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Santos, Lucy Jane 3 of 3

Abstract

The book offers a story of the enduring partnership between Ernest Rutherford and the much younger Marcus Oliphant set against the race to understand, control, and eventually set loose the power of nuclear fusion. We also understand the cost to Oliphant who, Ramsey, writes 'was forever troubled by the impact of the weapon he had helped create, and argued that it should never have been deployed against civilian populations'. The human cost of Rutherford's attitude that 'noble poverty produced more worthwhile results than pampered luxury' (p. 127) is highlighted whilst at the same time explaining why so many of his colleagues - including Oliphant - leave Cambridge to go to other institutions. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:Twentieth Century British History. 2023/06, Vol. 34, Issue 2, p397
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0955-2359
  • DOI:10.1093/tcbh/hwad003
  • Accession Number:164010220
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Twentieth Century British History is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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