Szilard, Leo

Szilard, Leo

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This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Peter Saundry
Leo Szilard. Leo Szilard.

Leo Szilard (1898-1964), a Hungarian-American physicist, was one of the first to realize that nuclear chain reactions could be used in bombs. Working at the University of Chicago with Enrico Fermi, he developed the first self-sustained nuclear reactor that operated on the fission of uranium. He helped convince Einstein to write a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt to establish a program to create the first atomic bomb, and went on to work with Enrico Fermi to create the first nuclear chain reaction. After World War II, he actively protested nuclear warfare and supported the use of nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.

Citation

Cutler Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Szilard, Leo". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 10, 2008; Last revised Date September 10, 2008; Retrieved May 24, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Szilard,_Leo>

The Author

Cutler Cleveland Editor-in-Chief The Encyclopedia of Earth Cutler J. Cleveland is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. Dr. Cleveland is currently a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, with joint appointments in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future. He also is a Senior Fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C. Dr. Cleveland is als ... (Full Bio)

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