"A stands for atom; it is so small No one has ever seen it at all. B stands for bombs; the bombs are much bigger. So, brother, do not be too fast on the trigger. F stands for fission; that is what things do When they get wobbly and big and must split in two. And just to confound the atomic confusion What fission has done may be undone by fusion. H has become a most ominous letter; It means something bigger, if not something better. S stands for secret; you can keep it forever — Provided there's no one abroad who is clever."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Jews from the United StatesPresidential Medal of Freedom recipientsAgnostics from the United StatesPhysicists from the United StatesPhysicists from Hungary
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
"Atom Alphabet", Alamogordo Daily News, from Alamogordo, New Mexico; pg5 of 14 November 1957
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Teller
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Edward Teller
Edward Teller (original Hungarian name Teller Ede) (15 January 1908 – 9 September 2003) was an American nuclear physicist, known as "the father of the hydrogen bomb."
39 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Edward Teller →
Related Quotes
"Secrecy in science does not work. Withholding information does more damage to us than to our competitors."
"It is not even impossible to imagine that the effects of an atomic war fought with greatly perfected weapons and push…"
"If we stay strong, then I believe we can stabilize the world and have peace based on force. Now, peace based on force…"
"I don't want to kill anybody. I am passionately opposed to killing, but I'm even more passionately fond of freedom. T…"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am to talk to you about energy in the future. I will start by telling you why I believe that …"
"At present the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 2 per cent over normal. By 1970, it will be perhaps 4 pe…"
"On May 7, a few weeks after the accident at Three-Mile Island, I was in Washington. I was there to refute some of tha…"
"By having simplified what is known, physicists have been led into realms which as yet are anything but simple. That a…"
"The preservation of peace and the improvement of the lot of all people require us to have faith in the rationality of…"
"There is no case where ignorance should be preferred to knowledge — especially if the knowledge is terrible."