Leo Szilard Essay

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In a world where the nuclear bomb was never invented, many key events could have turned out differently. Leo Szilard played a lead role in such a development as this and many other incidents. He was a very dynamic character in places throughout America under the fields of science and politics. His contributions also impacted the lives of many far beyond the borders. He was born in 1898 to a Jewish family in Austria-Hungary. After attending college, he went off to Germany wishing to have a career in physics. He studied physics in the capital city of Berlin until the Nazi regime came to power (Lowen). Following this event, he fled to England then the United States. Szilard's dynamic characterizations are especially prevalent in his early life …show more content…

Alongside Albert Einstein while still in Germany, Szilard was capable of inventing a safer type of refrigerator in the 1920’s (Grimes). This idea was to steer away from the previously used concepts that would occasionally leak lethal fumes. The same apparatus was also used in pumps for nuclear reactors when the nuclear age rose. Their haphazardly discovered nuclear concept is still used today as reference in many nuclear facilities. After abandoning the physics field and studying biology, Szilard alone constructed the world’s first chemostat (Frank 576). This biological reactor proved to be very helpful in enzyme studies and is still used today in the same field for the same purpose. Also in his career in biology included his postulation regarding the subjects of aging (Frank 576). The theorem he stated was that the length of a person’s life is primarily determined by mutations or major events in one’s life called faults. This proved useful in the sciences that dealt with lifespans of people or organisms and other age related subjects. These postulations still have an application in modern gerontology. Leo Szilard had a major impact on the scientific world, whether through his knowledge or inventions. On a political standpoint, however, it can be assumed that a lot of Leo Szilard’s influence was both rooted and changed by his scientific

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