Isn’t Fermi the guy who insisted that a nuclear reaction could set the atmosphere on fire in a massive nuclear reaction?
I’m having trouble making sense of the quoted section. It makes a lot more sense if that’s what they’re talking about, especially the “if it means that we may die of it,” rather than the possibility of a nuclear reaction in general.
Isn’t Fermi the guy who insisted that a nuclear reaction could set the atmosphere on fire in a massive nuclear reaction?
Not as far as I know. This was considered technically even though it seemed obviously false on its face, assigned an even lower credence afterward, and then it didn’t in fact turn out to be true.
Isn’t Fermi the guy who insisted that a nuclear reaction could set the atmosphere on fire in a massive nuclear reaction?
I’m having trouble making sense of the quoted section. It makes a lot more sense if that’s what they’re talking about, especially the “if it means that we may die of it,” rather than the possibility of a nuclear reaction in general.
That was Teller. And I think it was more “raised the possibility” than “insisted.”
Not as far as I know. This was considered technically even though it seemed obviously false on its face, assigned an even lower credence afterward, and then it didn’t in fact turn out to be true.