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Not necessarily. Ironically, nuclear explosion physics doesn’t use anything from quantum mechanics, nor from relativity. Intellectually, Germans were well-posit
by atemerev 8y ago
Not necessarily. Ironically, nuclear explosion physics doesn’t use anything from quantum mechanics, nor from relativity. Intellectually, Germans were well-positioned to complete the project; thankfully, they didn’t have the necessary financial and engineering support.
- zby 8y agoCare to elaborate on that? Sounds rather surprising. In wikipedia on nuclear fission "quantum" is used 3 times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission - but I suspect that all of the nuclear physics is based on quantum mechanics isn't it?
- AnimalMuppet 8y agoI think atemerev's point is that you can find out enough to build a bomb without knowing either relativity or quantum. Yes, E=mc^2 is why the energy is released, but all you need to know is how much energy is released when an atom splits. Yes, quantum mechanics may explain the neutron absorption cross section, but you don't need to know that. You just need to be able to measure the cross section.