Who Is Really Responsible? The Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs

The basis behind scientific research is to have a better understanding of the world we live in and how humans may further improve their current lifestyle. But should the scientists behind the research be held accountable for the impact their work has on future lifestyle? Should the scientists behind the discovery of greenhouse gasses be responsible for global warming? Should the scientists behind nuclear fusion be responsible for the outcome of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in World War II? This last question I will be discussing further later on. I believe that scientists should not be held responsible for the consequences of their work. I will defend my position with examples of scientific discoveries that have ultimately led to the harm of a human population. These examples include Fritz Haber and his synthesis of ammonia, Thomas Midgley and his discovery of leaded petrol and finally Sir Mark Oliphant and his contributing research that lead to the production of the Hydrogen bomb.

Fritz Haber was a Jewish born German chemist in 1868 who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1918 for his work on nitrogen fixation in the air. Before his Nobel Prize he had found a way to synthesise ammonia for fertilising crops from hydrogen and nitrogen. While working with Carl Bosch, an engineer from a chemical company, they created the Haber-Bosch process which made it possible to create mass amounts of fertiliser (Bowlby, 2011). The pair ran the slogan “bread from air” to advertise the product and solved a problem that was facing farmers around the world. While trying to increase crop growth, Haber was working on a pesticide to ensure farmers their crops would not be eaten by pests. Haber died before his work had really made an impact on ...

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