It is sometime said that nuclear power and nuclear bombs came as a complete surprise to the public in 1945. Not true. Here are some quotes from a magazine article W. Davis, "Behind the Scenes in Science," Free World, November 1942. Note the last paragraph.
For years the length of the waves of visible light seemed to limit the size of what the human eye could see. Then it was found that streams of electrons, which may be considered particles of matter in one aspect and the essence of electricity in another, would act very much like light of very much shorter wave length. It was possible to extend the exploration of the minute reaches of space and make pictures of things that could not be seen with optical microscopes with conventional lenses of the finest sort. Germs turned out to have different structure than was imagined when they were enlarged 20,000 or even 50,00o diameters. Common substances, such as some of the widely used chemicals, were discovered to be very different from the previous conceptions. . . . The electron microscope can also be used to peer into the interior of minute objects and determine their molecular structure. In this modification the photograph obtained is not a picture of what the material would look like if we could see such minute objects, but it is a diffraction pattern which allows the physicist to tell how the atoms are arranged in the molecules. . . . In a very different way, electrons of extraordinary speed and energy are being used in the world's most powerful X-ray machines. A special machine called the induced electron accelerator whirls electrons to such high speed that a machine actually in operation produces X-rays of 20 million volts while a new machine is designed for 100 million volt Xrays. A massive concrete building with walls 3 feet thick is necessary to house this powerful machine with safety. It will be used to test armor plate, but the fact that loo million volt X-rays have the wave length of the weaker cosmic rays causes the speculation that something new about the structure of the universe may be discovered when scientists have had the opportunity of working with such powerful radiation. Hidden behind the cloak of secrecy that surrounds military research is any progress that is being made on the extraction of power from within the uranium atom through splitting it asunder. From the heavens comes evidence that atomic fission similar to that of uranium 235, on which hopes of atomic power on this earth are based, takes place in the sun's corona, that system of luminous streamers which surrounds the sun and is visible only at a total solar eclipse. . . . [The article ends with sentiments you do not see often these days:] These benefits of science are not merely the material things produced for fighting and living. They are of the spirit. Using the ways of science there is hope that men will yet understand the ways of men, the insanities of dictators, and the possibility of material and mental satisfaction for everyone on this planet. It is hardly too much to expect that people who launch a ship every few hours and fly away an airplane every few minutes will be defeated by the human factor in the task of setting the world to rights.
