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| | '''Edward Teller''' (1908-2003) was a theoretical [[physics|physicist]] who was born in [[Austria-Hungary]], educated in [[Germany]], and who immigrated to the [[United States]] in 1935 to escape [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. | | '''Edward Teller''' (1908-2003) was a theoretical [[physics|physicist]] who was born in [[Austria-Hungary]], educated in [[Germany]], and who immigrated to the [[United States]] in 1935 to escape [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. |
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| | + | ==Discoveries== |
| | His specialty was [[nuclear energy]], both fission and fusion. He discovered the Jahn-Teller Effect in 1939, describing the geometrical distortion of electron clouds undergo in chemical reactions of metals he also helped develop the the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherm for surface physics and chemistry. | | His specialty was [[nuclear energy]], both fission and fusion. He discovered the Jahn-Teller Effect in 1939, describing the geometrical distortion of electron clouds undergo in chemical reactions of metals he also helped develop the the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherm for surface physics and chemistry. |
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| | + | ==Work on the atomic bomb== |
| | In 1942, Teller worked with [[Leo Szilard]] at the [[University of Chicago]] in the early stages of the [[Manhattan Project]], and a year later headed the Theoretical Physics division at [[Los Alamos]] in [[New Mexico]]. | | In 1942, Teller worked with [[Leo Szilard]] at the [[University of Chicago]] in the early stages of the [[Manhattan Project]], and a year later headed the Theoretical Physics division at [[Los Alamos]] in [[New Mexico]]. |
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| | A conservative academic physicist, Teller later supported President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s missile defense proposal known as the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]. | | A conservative academic physicist, Teller later supported President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s missile defense proposal known as the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]. |
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| − | In the years before his death, Teller began speaking out about the hysteria over [[global warming]], writing in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' in 1997 that "the jury is still out" on whether gases such as [[carbon dioxide]] cause global warming, but in the event it does occur, [[science]] and [[technology]] can address any such effects far cheaper than overregulating the market with emissions restrictions.<ref>Teller, Edward. "The Planet Needs a Sunscreen". ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 17, 1997. Also reprinted in the [[Hoover Institution]]'s ''Hoover Digest'' 1998, No.1, full text at http://www.evolutionquebec.com/site/archives/teller.htm</ref> He suggested the cooling caused by [[volcano|volcanic]] eruptions could serve as a model for the deliberate introduction of fine particles similar to those produced by volcanoes into the upper [[atmosphere]], which would mitigate any warming at a cost of between 0.1% and 1% of the cost of implementing the restrictions called for by [[environmentalism|environmentalists]].<ref>http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/envpd/pdenv125.html</ref> Edward Teller is also a signatory to the Global Warming Petition Project, a [[petition]] urging the United States government to reject the [[Kyoto Protocol]], a petition which also reads in part, "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate."<ref>http://www.oism.org/pproject/pproject.htm</ref> | + | ==Global warming== |
| | + | In the years before his death, Teller began speaking out about the hysteria over [[global warming]], writing in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' in 1997 that "the jury is still out" on whether gases such as [[carbon dioxide]] cause global warming, but in the event it does occur, [[science]] and [[technology]] can address any such effects far cheaper than overregulating the market with emissions restrictions.<ref>Teller, Edward. "The Planet Needs a Sunscreen". ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 17, 1997. Also reprinted in the [[Hoover Institution]]'s ''Hoover Digest'' 1998, No.1, full text at http://www.evolutionquebec.com/site/archives/teller.htm</ref> He suggested the cooling caused by [[volcano|volcanic]] eruptions could serve as a model for the deliberate introduction of fine particles similar to those produced by volcanoes into the upper [[atmosphere]], which would mitigate any warming at a cost of between 0.1% and 1% of the cost of implementing the restrictions called for by [[environmentalism|environmentalists]].<ref>http://www.ncpa.org/pi/enviro/envpd/pdenv125.html</ref> |
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| | + | Edward Teller is also a signatory to the Global Warming Petition Project, a [[petition]] urging the United States government to reject the [[Kyoto Protocol]], a petition which also reads in part, "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate."<ref>http://www.oism.org/pproject/pproject.htm</ref> |
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| | ==References and notes== | | ==References and notes== |