Edward Teller

"What we should have learned is that the world is small, that peace is important and that cooperation in science... could contribute to peace. Nuclear weapons, in a peaceful world, will have a limited importance." Edward Teller in CNN interview [1]

Edward teller is a popular theoretical physicist, practically known as “the father of hydrogen bomb,” was a Hungarian-born American. He was born during January 15, 1908 and died during September 9, 2003. Teller immigrated to the United States in the 1930s, and was an early member of the Manhattan Project charged with developing the first atomic bombs. The Manhattan project was held at the fledgling Los Alamos National Laboratory and Teller eventually became the assistant director for the project.
From 1949-50, he concentrated on the hydrogen bomb and contributing to the decision to make the thermonuclear reaction major part of the U.S defence system. However, Teller was often ostracized by much of the scientific community. His continuation of looking for support from the U.S government and the military research establishment has earn the support from them, particularly for his advocacy for nuclear energy development, a strong nuclear arsenal and a vigorous nuclear testing program [2]. His advocacy of competition in the national interest to ensure excellence in nuclear developments led to creation of the Livermore site of what was then called the University of California Radiation Laboratory in 1952, now the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [3]. Teller served as Laboratory Director at Livermore for two years during the late 1950s and thereafter as Associated Director for physics until his retirement in 1975. In the same year, he was named as the Director Emeritus of the Lab as was appointed as Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover institution, positions he held until his death at the age of
When nuclear fission was discovered in 1939, Teller quickly saw it enormous potential for both military and civilian use [13]. He recognises the use of nuclear power as a clean and inexpensive source compared to other alternatives. This may lead to a better environment protection as well. He also realised that nuclear energy will be really important towards the development for the 21st century, might even go up to 23rd or 24th century. Greater demand of energy for the upcoming society allowed nuclear energy to be one of the key sources for industrial and economical foundation. Major countries now days such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the USA have major use of nuclear energy because of its cheapness. Scientists also found out the large consumption of fossil fuel have largely affected the concentration level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In Memoirs, Teller noted that, “Alternative energy sources, such as wind power and solar energy, are not quantitatively significant.” He thus saw nuclear power as a key option for the long term [13]. While working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Teller contributed to some of the early reactor projects, and in 1947, he became the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC’s) Committee on Reactor Safeguards [13]. He always stresses the other scientist to be aware of the danger of hazards and chemicals. Then, he designed an