ATOMIC BULLETS SPLITTING URANIUM

Is Science Springing Its Biggest Surprise By Robert D Potter NEW YORK and the world would be surprised if someone shot a rifle bullet at the Empire State building and split it into two parts. But people would be no more surprised than are scientists these days over their newly discovered ability to shoot atomic bullets at uranium atoms and make these giants split into two parts and release enormous amounts of atomic energy. Yes, science today is getting atomic energy on a scale never before dreamed possible. In Germany, in Denmark, and in at least three American laboratories, scientists have found that the neutral atomic particles called neutrons, which possess 1/30 of an electronvolt of energy each, can split uranium atoms apart and release energies of 200,000,000 electronvolts. Don't let the term electronvolts worry you. It is just the scientist's unit for energy in his atom-smashing experiments. Rather concentrate on the contrast between 1/30 and 200,000,000. The ratio you can figure out is about 6,000,000,000 times, which means that when neutrons split uranium atoms six billion times more energy comes out than was put in. Isn't this newest trick of science the start of releasing